The federal government has announced it will suspend mandatory random tests for COVID-19 at all vaccinated airports from June 11.
Between June 11 and June 30, randomized testing at Canadian airports will be “suspended”, although unvaccinated passengers will continue to be tested on site. From 1 July, all tests, including for unvaccinated passengers, will be carried out off-site.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that significant waiting times at some Canadian airports have on passengers. “We continue to work with airports, airlines, baggage claimants and other partners to implement solutions to reduce delays as the summer peak season approaches,” Transport Canada said in a statement on Friday.
This comes after growing pressure from the tourism and aviation industries, calling on the federal government to ease restrictions on COVID-19 amid long queues and delays at airports, especially at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA), which manages Pearson Airport, has called on federal authorities to suspend on-site tests at airports as it expects international passenger numbers to jump 50% as the summer travel season increases.
“This is for much more than Toronto Pearson; it’s about global perceptions of our country and the risk of Canada losing billions of dollars in tourism and business if travelers decide that coming to Canada this summer is simply not worth the hassle, “GTAA CEO Deborah Flint said in a statement Thursday. on airport delays.
The federal government had already released international passengers on a connecting flight to be pulled aside for random testing. Transport Canada says it has also hired 865 CATSA screening staff since April.
Other measures, such as COVID-19 vaccine mandates and the mandatory use of the ArriveCAN application, remain in force. The federal government says the Public Health Agency of Canada has additional staff at airports to validate ArriveCAN data and help travelers use the app.
During a virtual media briefing on Friday morning, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Teresa Tam, called random passenger testing an “early warning system” designed to detect inputs.
“We are doing a random sample to select people from different parts of the world and we are able to identify options for concern,” Tam said.
THE TOURIST INDUSTRY APPLAUDS THE MOVEMENT
The passenger and aviation industries have welcomed the move to halt random tests at airports, calling it a step in the right direction.
On Twitter, the Canadian Airports Council called the move a “big step forward for passengers and the Canadian tourism industry”, while Canada’s National Airlines Council said it was a positive step rooted in science and evidence that would improve airport conditions in Canada. Canada and reducing complexity for travelers. “
The Canadian Tourism Association also tweeted that they were “excited to hear the news today.”
“We hope this will happen permanently and that barriers to travel to Canada will continue to be removed,” the associate tweeted on Friday.
However, the Conservatives say that stopping random tests is not enough, and call on the Liberals to remove all other travel measures with COVID-19, including vaccine mandates. Conservative transport critic Melissa Lanzman called the move a pause in random tests only to bring it back off the site in July as a “ill-considered response” to growing pressure to lift restrictions.
“You cannot travel to this country if you have not been vaccinated. You are still resuming tests on July 1. These are not measures. They are half measures. They are a reaction from the United States and the government is under pressure and rightly so, from Canadians, because these Pearson formations are abdicating responsibility from this federal government, “Lanzman told CTV Power and Politics on Friday.
Even within the Liberal Group, there were disagreements over the extension of mandates for a vaccine against COVID-19 for air and train travelers, as well as for foreign tourists entering Canada. Northern Ontario Liberal MP Mark Serre told reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday that he believes “it’s probably time to move on.”
“These mandates were important. There is a high rate of vaccinations. Canadians are safe. There are far fewer people who have died here per capita than many other countries. So the mandates worked. Mandates are important, but now is probably the time to move on, “he said.
Meanwhile, NDP transport critic Taylor Bahrach says the federal government needs to be more transparent when it comes to deciding on public health measures, and says liberals should have been better prepared to increase demand for air travel. .
“We need the government to provide evidence. “They have to explain the public health advice they get from Dr. Tam, but they didn’t, and people are getting more and more frustrated because they see other jurisdictions that don’t have the same public health measures,” he told CTV Power. and Politics on Friday.
Stopping mandatory random tests at airports is a great step forward for passengers and the Canadian tourism industry. We are beginning to see signs of progress in all areas of the airport. Thank you @OmarAlghabra https://t.co/1GAutZ6PMR
– canadasairports (@canadasairports) June 10, 2022
Canadian airlines welcome Minister @OmarAlghabra’s decision to suspend and relocate mandatory random random tests at airports. This is a positive step, rooted in science and evidence, that will improve conditions at Canada’s airports and reduce passenger complexity.
– NACC-CNLA (@NACC_CNLA) June 10, 2022
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