Travellers returning to Canada from abroad are reporting mixed messaging at the border when it comes to COVID-19.
Some said they received handouts and were asked to sign declarations saying they would self-isolate, but others said they were given no instructions or information.
Pat Klus returned from Mexico and says she was asked to sign a declaration by border officers saying she would self-isolate for 14 days. (Sandra Abma/CBC)
Passengers at the Ottawa International Airport told CBC they received information from border officials as they returned to the country.
“I actually had to sign a little declaration when I come through customs saying I would self-isolate for two weeks,” said Pat Klus, who was returning to Ottawa from Mexico on Monday.
Others who entered the country at Pearson International in Toronto described a much different experience.
Helen Azar was expecting to be asked more questions and to be tested for COVID-19 on her return from Portugal to Ottawa via Toronto. She says she received very little messaging, however, and was not told to self-isolate for 14 days. (Sandra Abma/CBC)
“It was very superficial, extremely superficial,” said Helen Azar, who flew to Toronto from Portugal before heading to Ottawa.
Azar said she was willing to take a COVID-19 test at the border if one had been offered.
Brittnee Kenney, a 19-year-old university student returning to Toronto from St. Louis, Mo., had a similar experience.
Brittnee Kenney returned from university in Missouri after her academic year and hockey season were forced to end due to the COVID-19 outbreak. She said she wasn’t asked any questions when coming through customs. (Sandra Abma/CBC)
“No one talked to me, no one was at the door. The only thing that changes is there is hand sanitizer,” Kenney said.
She was met at the airport by her grandfather, but couldn’t give him a hug. She said she will be spending the next 14 days in self-isolation now that she’s home.
Julia Saunders, Olivia Chouinard, Molly Saunders and Alexa Ignjatic cut their vacation to the Dominican Republic short. They say they were given information sheets with instructions from public health officials at Ottawa’s airport. (Sandra Abma/CBC)
A group of friends who had to cut their vacation to the Dominican Republic short said they were warned by officials and at digital kiosks about the need to self-isolate when they arrived back to Canada.
Julia and Megan Saunders, Olivia Chouinard and Alexa Ignjatic said their parents reached out to tell them to return early.
“I have a COVID-19 disease slip and it tells you all the precautions you need to take,” Chouinard said.
On Monday, the federal government announced that all international flights would soon be rerouted to airports in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal to allow for increased monitoring of passengers.
Echoing earlier advice from health and government officials, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians abroad to come home as soon as possible, and warned they could be denied entry if they’re showing symptoms of COVID-19.
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.
