The Trudeau government has no plans to follow the U.S. by reducing COVID-19 quarantine times to five days, CTV News reports today. “The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told CTVNews.ca in a statement on Wednesday that officials are aware of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance and the body will inform Canadians should there be similar steps taken north of the border. “While isolation and quarantine rules may vary across the country based on the directives of local public health experts, federal authorities recommend an isolation period of a minimum of 10 days from the Read more
Justin Trudeau
The Canadian government is not going to be closing its borders to battle Omicron, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today. Speaking at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, Trudeau said the Omicron variants “is already here.” “Shutting down the borders at this point would not be an effective measure,” Trudeau said. The government instead feels its best to try to limit gathering sizes and improve COVID-19 testing, he said. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos echoed Trudeau’s comments, saying Canada has “some of the strongest border measures” in the world. He also noted that visitors to Canada must be tested for the coronavirus before Read more
It became a little tougher today for Canadians to travel. Just after midnight Eastern Time today, December 21, new rules brought in by the government of Canada to combat the Omicron variant took effect. Under the new regulations, any Canadian who leaves the country must submit a negative PCR test before they’re allowed to return, even if they’re only gone for a few hours. The government was allowing Canadians who left the country for less than 72 hours to get tested before they left on their trip. But the ruling Liberals passed new legislation last week that revoked that policy. Read more
The Trudeau government is still considering a ban on non-essential travel to Canada by foreign nationals, the Toronto Star is reporting. A proposal to shut Canada’s borders to non-essential travellers was one of four options the Trudeau cabinet considered Tuesday as it grappled with the growth of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, reporter Tonda MacCharles said. The idea met with opposition from some Cabinet members and from some provincial premiers. But a source told the Star it’s still under consideration. Trudeau mentioned the idea in his Tuesday Cabinet meeting, and then posed that and other possible moves in his Tuesday night Read more
Powerful travel and tourism groups are welcoming passage of a Canadian government bill to aid the industry. The Canadian Parliament and Justin Trudeau government on Thursday passed Bill C-2, which provides further support to the industry in response to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The Coalition of the Hardest Hit Businesses said welcomes the passing of the bill for an industry that has been hit hard by border closures, travel bans, and the loss of international and domestic travellers. A survey of Coalition members earlier in the year found that up to 60% did not expect to make it through the Read more
