I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. But I really am wondering who’s in charge in Ottawa these days. If you read today’s Globe and Mail, you’ll find a startling story in which federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos warns Canadians flying home from any country other than the U.S. that they have to isolate while they await the results of the Trudeau government’s new requirement for on-arrival COVID testing. He’s been saying that for days, so nothing unusual there. But the Globe story goes on to say that “neither he (Duclos) nor Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Read more
airports
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada’s provincial premiers will discuss mandatory testing for visitors arriving from the United States. “We’re going to be super cautious; everything is on the table,” Ford told reporters today at the opening of a new hospital in Mississauga, Ontario. “We’ll sit down and discuss that.” “It doesn’t take much to get a test at the airport,” he said. Ford said he was pleased that the Trudeau government on Tuesday announced it will require on-arrival testing for all passengers coming from destinations other than the U.S. That’s in addition to requiring visitors and Canadians to be Read more
A month or two ago, when all this crazy coronavirus stuff hit the fan, I suggested that 2020 may be The Summer of Canada given our reluctance (and, for now, inability) to travel anywhere else over the next few months, and given the low Canadian dollar and the damage COVID-19 has done to our collective pocketbooks. I’m taking another look at the issue today given a Conference Board of Canada study I spotted the other day (and one I referenced on the weekend during my live interview on CTV News). Today’s Future of Travel Blog also looks at a new Read more
A rebound will come some day. But I think it will take quite a long time before travel is back to normal. Given what’s been happening with social or physical distancing, we’re not going to flick a switch on July 1 (or whenever) and go back to crowded airports and jam-packed airplanes. Some things will simply have to change. Writing in the Globe and Mail recently, esteemed urbanist Richard Florida talked about new ways being needed to run airport check-in counters, baggage carousels and airlines themselves. Further to that, Delta Airlines today issued a statement saying that, starting April 13 Read more
Almost half of all Canadians (49 per cent) are planning to travel for vacation in the next 12 months. But a CIBC survey finds many aspects of travel are stressful or leave folks wanting more. Nearly all respondents (93 per cent) said they would love to get through security and customs more quickly. And most (74 per cent) would like to have access to airport lounges. But more than half of those surveyed (54 per cent) think their lounge dreams are unattainable. The survey, conducted among 1,525 randomly selected Canadian adults, also found that we worry about having our credit Read more
