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
COVID testing
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
This was a day that held out considerable hope for many in the travel business in the United States and Canada. No such luck. Reuters reports that The Biden administration on Thursday said it was extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against COVID-19. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most visitors since March 2020. The rules were set to expire tonight, April 21. There’s no Read more
Canada’s busiest airport is getting a bit lift from Trudeau government. The ruling Liberals today announced $142 million in funding to help Toronto Pearson International Airport recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support continued air services and important transportation infrastructure projects at the airport. “As Canada works towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in our airport infrastructure continue to be crucial to maintain safety, security, and connectivity for travellers, workers and communities,” the government said in a press release. Investments such as this “also help ensure Canada’s aviation industry is well-positioned to recover from the Read more
Chief Medical Officers of Health for Air Canada, Toronto Pearson, and WestJet are calling on Canadian governments to shift PCR testing from airports to communities. In a letter to Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and senior health officials in the federal and Ontario governments, the health officers said tests are needed at the community level and not for travellers. “Over the last two months, Omicron has quickly become the predominant variant of COVID-19. As it spreads throughout our communities, we need to ensure Canada’s limited testing resources are being used where Canadians need them most—to support our communities, schools, hospitals Read more
