Fully vaccinated travellers will be able to enter Canada with a pre-arrival antigen test, unvaccinated children travellers will no longer have to isolate for 14 days, and international flights to all Canadian airports will resume starting February 28.
Also, if fully vaccinated travellers are selected for a random on-arrival test, they will no longer have to quarantine while waiting on results.
The pre-arrival antigen test must be approved by the country travellers are coming from, and taken no more than 24 hours before arriving at the border, or their scheduled flight. Taking a rapid antigen test at home is not sufficient to meet the pre-entry requirement. The test it must be administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service. Travellers can still use a PCR test within 72 hours before arrival. There were no changes to the previous guidelines on molecular tests.
Travellers will still need to upload documents via the ArriveCAN app before crossing the border.
Unvaccinated travellers will still need to be tested on arrival and quarantine for 14 days. They will also need to do a test on day eight of their quarantine.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement on February 15 in Ottawa, the nation’s capital. He was joined by the ministers of transport, public safety, tourism, and intergovernmental affairs.
Travel Minister Omar Alghabra announced that international flights to all Canadian airports will resume at the end of the month. The notice to airmen that restricts international flights will expire at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, according to a media release.
Canada will adjust its travel advisory from a level 3 to a level 2. This means the government will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes. However, the minister still urged Canadians to understand the risks associated with international travel during the pandemic.
Duclos said these measures are transitory, and may be adjusted as the COVID-19 situation changes. He suggested that if hospitalization rates decline in the near future, further easing of restrictions may follow.
The health minister had signalled last week that changes were forthcoming, as Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the country is seeking more sustainable plans to manage COVID-19.
Travellers to Canada currently must be fully vaccinated, with few exceptions. Unvaccinated travellers must quarantine. Vaccinated travellers need a pre-arrival COVID-19 PCR test taken at least 72 hours before crossing the border, and may be subject to a random on-arrival test.
Duclos said last week the worst of the Omicron wave is now behind Canada, and the government will continue to adjust measures accordingly.
Tam confirmed Canada’s travel advisory against international travel is being assessed.
Meanwhile, provincial governments are rolling back COVID-19 measures, and doing away with vaccine passport requirements. Manitoba plans to lift COVID-19 restrictions by mid-March. Ontario moved up its timeline to lax public health measures. Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have also announced plans to roll back restrictions.
In recent weeks, Canada has also been facing pressure from health experts and the tourism industry to lift the COVID-19 test requirement.
Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended countries lift international travel bans as “they do not provide added value” and contribute to economic and social stress. The spread of the Omicron variant has demonstrated that border measures are ineffective against the highly contagious variant. However, WHO also said travel measures like masking, testing, quarantine and vaccination should be based on risk assessment, and avoid placing the financial burden on international travellers.
WHO also said countries should not require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as the only condition permitting international travel, given the limited global access and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
