Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed to end mandatory vaccines and random testing of travellers at the border, as well as making the controversial ArriveCAN optional. But the mask mandate could remain in place for now. The CBC this afternoon quoted a senior government source as saying the agrees with his Cabinet, which the Toronto Star said had voted unanimously to make the changes. CTV News and the Toronto Star both said two government sources told them the same thing. The network said an announcement was likely on Monday, but that Cabinet was still debating the mask mandate as of Read more
Joe Biden
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
Toronto Pearson Airport officials say they need more staffing, better technology and fewer health restrictions to end the lineup nightmare wait times at security and customs. Travellers are returning to Pearson and other Canadian airports in droves, and airport officials across the country are struggling to keep up with demand. Staffing shortages have been an issue in Vancouver, Toronto and other cities. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority says fliers are “facing bottlenecks and very lengthy delays” and that it understands the frustrations that travellers are feeling. The authority says it needs several changes to be made, including changes to public 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 isn’t ditching its mask rules for airplane and train passengers, at least not yet. A U.S. federal court judge on Monday quashed the U.S. masking law. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the States then announced it would no longer enforce masking rules on airlines. Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra on Tuesday gave no indication that the Trudeau government plans to drop its masking requirement for air and train passengers in Canada in the near future, according to the CBC. “We constantly consult our experts and whenever the advice that we receive changes because the circumstances change, we will Read more
