Mandatory random testing of fully vaccinated travellers will resume next Tuesday, and Canadian tourism officials aren’t happy about it. Ottawa paused mandatory random testing for those entering Canada by air on June 11, 2022, as part of a broader strategy to transition testing for air travellers outside of the airports. Mandatory random testing will resume as of July 19, 2022, for travellers who qualify as fully vaccinated, arriving in Canada by air to the four major Canadian airports—Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller to Canada, travellers must have been vaccinated with a primary series Read more
airport testing
Mandatory Random Testing For Air Arrivals to Canada Resumes Next Week: Tourism Group Blasts Decision
A top Canadian tourism official says he’s heartbroken over news that the Trudeau government is extending current border measures for travellers entering Canada. Christopher Bloore, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, said on Twitter (@ChrisBloore) that his “heart absolutely sank” when he read that current requirements for travellers arriving in Canada are likely to stay in place until at least September 30, 2022. “The tourism industry has NOT recovered. Our border towns and RBT operators are at breaking point. Beyond disappointed and worried for the future,” he said. Ottawa on Wednesday said that in addition to Read more
A group of Canadian travel and tourism experts are asking the Trudeau government to avoid bringing back random tests at Canadian airports. They also want to see the lifting of all remaining COVID-19 travel restrictions. “Three weeks ago, to aid the flow of passengers at ‘Canada’s airports, the federal government announced a pause on Mandatory Random Testing through to June 30, 2022,” the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said in a press release today. But that pause expires in only a few hours, and random testing will continue, albeit off-site. “Removing the entire testing process from airports will ease the Read more
Canadian Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault says it could take weeks for the federal government to ease congestion at the nation’s airports. Tempers have been boiling over for some time as Canadians revert to 2019 travel patterns, only to be faced with long lineups at security and customs and a shortage of staff in the tourism and travel industry. Speaking to CTV’s Question Period, Boissonnault said he’s not happy with reports of Canadians waiting hours to get through travel checkpoints, particularly at Toronto Pearson International Airport. “I’m going to be very blunt. I’m not happy with the situation. I don’t want Read more
The Canadian government is temporarily halting random COVID-19 testing of incoming international passengers at Canadian airports. Random testing at airports will be temporarily suspended at all airports starting on Saturday, June 11 until June 30, for those who are fully vaccinated, according to a joint statement fromTourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. Unvaccinated travellers will still be tested at airports until the end of June. As of July 1, all testing, including for unvaccinated travellers, will be performed off-site, officials said. But the halt is only temporary, and officials said Read more
