WASHINGTON –
It’s time to say goodbye to the ArriveCan app, say mayors of border towns, tourism industry leaders and others who complain about Canada’s strict COVID-19 rules for international travelers are encouraging future US visitors to spend their travel dollars at home .
Two Ontario mayors whose cities depend on cross-border tourism – Mike Bradley of Sarnia and Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls – called on the federal government on Wednesday to stop requiring passengers to navigate the prior authorization process, which many find frustrating and confusing. .
“I learned a long time ago – I’ve been in politics for a long time: when you ride a dead horse, get off the horse,” Bradley told a news conference in Ottawa.
“That’s what the federal government has to do.”
Bradley, Diodati and Estelle Muzzi, mayor of the Quebec border community in Saint-Bernard de Lacole south of Montreal and defenders of duty-free shop operators, say the rules prevent occasional cross-border visits that they say are vital to locals. their economy.
Adding insult to the injury, they say, is the fact that such rules do not exist for travelers entering the United States, especially now that Ottawa is raising the requirement for vaccination against COVID-19 for domestic and outbound international travel.
Canadian and foreign visitors who intend to enter Canada must continue to use the app or online portal to submit their vaccination information to the Canadian Border Services Agency some time ago, a rule Diodati said has outlived its usefulness.
“We have all supported the federal government with all the restrictions on the border; “We stood side by side with them to make sure we were safe,” he said.
“But science is now telling us that having these restrictions at the border (no longer) serves us well. In the beginning, he had to protect the virus – well, he’s obviously here. It doesn’t do what it was originally meant to do. “
Richard Cunningham, a New Democrat MP whose southern air force covers six separate border crossings between Canada and the United States, said duty-free shops in those communities continue to see business 95 percent lower than before the pandemic.
“The NDP’s caution is particularly supportive of restrictions to keep Canadians safe when traveling and at work,” Cunningham said.
“But for many months we have been calling for a Safe Borders Task Force, a safe border strategy that brings together stakeholders to build a system that makes sense for all Canadians to protect us but also to keep businesses running.
There were no US votes at Wednesday’s press conference, a striking contrast to bilateral calls for easing of restrictions that became part of last year’s pandemic.
That’s because American communities and tour operators are taking advantage of the imbalance because it encourages American travelers to stay put and spend their money closer to home, Bradley said.
“Americans, and I pay tribute to them, are great in their own interest,” he said.
Some U.S. lawmakers have taken full advantage of the political advantage of protests against the vaccine mandate that sparked southern cross-border trafficking and trade earlier this year, arguing in favor of boosting domestic production and supply chains, Bradley added.
“They used it as a tool for economic development to keep the industries in their own country instead of coming here.”
Representative Brian Higgins, a New York congressman who became one of the most vocal supporters of easing travel restrictions during the pandemic, appeared later Wednesday to express solidarity with his Canadian cousins.
“I stand with municipal leaders and travel agencies in calling for the termination of ArriveCan’s mandate,” Higgins said in a statement. Voters often call his office, “disappointed and confused” by the constant changes in border crossing requirements, he said.
“Therefore, in order to circumvent the insecurity and troubles it creates, many avoid crossing the border altogether. We need to get back to managing the US-Canada border before the pandemic. “
Martin Firestone, a Toronto travel insurance broker who specializes in helping retirees spend the winter months in warmer countries like Florida, said ArriveCan’s requirements are particularly burdensome for its older, less tech-savvy adults. customers.
Many of them “don’t have a phone to do it on – and even if they can do it on a computer, there’s nothing simple about it; there’s no purpose,” Firestone said.
You want too much from people to such an extent that they will say, “You know what, it’s just not worth it.”
The government will “suspend” mandates for a vaccine against COVID-19 for local and outgoing international travelers, as well as for federally regulated workers, effective Monday. Visiting foreign nationals should be vaccinated to avoid 14-day quarantine and extensive testing requirements.
Transport Minister Omar Algabra acknowledged the ongoing complaints, saying on Tuesday that the government was working on “efficiency” to make it less burdensome. But it remains a valuable and necessary tool for public health, Algabra said.
Groups in the tourism industry have blamed federal public health measures and mandates to delay airport customs, which have contributed to long waits for passengers and forced delays and cancellations.
These delays will only get worse now that the rules are changing for some passengers, but not for all, Firestone warned.
“The flow of the airport will increase significantly on Monday,” he said, including among Canadian passengers who do not fully understand international rules. “Watch what happens at the airport when they land and don’t have their ArriveCan filled up properly.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 15, 2022.
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