In the public interest, I’m publishing the press release sent out today by the Canadian government regarding travel rule changes. Recent data indicates that the latest wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant has passed its peak in Canada. As provinces and territories adjust their public health measures, and as we transition away from the crisis phase, it is now time to move towards a more sustainable approach to long-term management of COVID-19. This transition is possible because of a number of factors, including Canada’s high vaccination rates, the increasing availability and use of rapid tests to detect infection, Read more
Ottawa
WestJet and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada say they welcome today’s announced changes to Canada’s travel rules. But both groups, along with the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, say tourism and the travel industry won’t recover as long as there are still pre-arrival testing laws in place. “The WestJet Group welcomes today’s announcement from the federal government outlining changes to Canada’s border measures and travel policies,” airline officials said. “The WestJet Group will continue to advocate, based on science and data, for the removal of all measures impacting fully-vaccinated air travellers.” “As a fully-vaccinated industry, we have worked with Read more
Starting Feb. 28, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to take a PCR-style test to enter Canada. Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos today said travellers will still be required to take a pre-arrival test but will be allowed to make it a rapid antigen test, which can be purchased more easily than PCR tests, and are a fraction of the cost. Those rapid tests will have to be taken with 24 hours of a scheduled departure to Canada or 24 hours before a traveller arrives at a Canadian land border crossing, Duclos said. There were reports that the changes Read more
The Canadian government says it should be able to announce changes to COVID-19 travel restrictions next week. Speaking at a press event today in Ottawa, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said that “the worst of Omicron is behind us” and that “we should be able to communicate changes next week.” Canada has been requiring all travellers, including Canadians with two vaccinations or even two vaccinations and a booster, to take a PCR-style COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their scheduled departure. That rule has come under increasing fire, with two well-known Canadian doctors on Thursday calling the testing “futile” and “obsolete.” Read more
WestJet has further extended its schedule reductions by 20% through March. “As WestJet continues to navigate ongoing uncertainty and barriers facing travel, the airline is announcing a further extension of its planned schedule consolidations through to March 31, 2022,” officials said Monday morning (Feb. 7). The company on January 18 announced a 20% flight reduction through February 28, 2022. Air Canada Vacations and Transat also have seen a reduction in flights this winter. An Air Canada spokesman this morning said it has nothing further to report on the issue. “For two years, WestJet has gone above and beyond to keep Read more
