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Questions answered about Ottawa’s tough new travel rules

Published

4 years ago

February 7, 2021

Confused about Ottawa‘s strict new rules designed to discourage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic?

You’re not alone.

After the federal government announced the new travel measures on Jan. 29, CBC News was flooded with emails from Canadians yearning to know more — including how Ottawa came up with a $2,000 hotel quarantine bill.

So far, the government has offered only broad details about the new rules, but it promises to provide more information in the coming days.

Here’s what we know now.

Air passenger rules explained

Some of the government’s new travel measures are already in place. On Jan. 31, Canada’s major airlines — in an agreement with Ottawa — cancelled all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.

Several American airlines still fly from Canada to those destinations, but passengers will encounter at least one U.S. stopover along the way.

Canada’s airlines are still flying to the United States, because essential workers need to travel between Canada and the U.S. during the pandemic, Transport Canada told CBC News on Thursday.

Canada-bound passengers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flight, and all flights entering the country are now being funnelled into four major airports in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

According to the federal government, most air passengers entering Canada will soon be required to take another COVID-19 test upon arrival and wait for the results — up to three days — in a designated hotel. Passengers who test negative can leave and finish the rest of their 14-day quarantine at home.

Those with positive test results will be expected to stay in the hotel.

What about the cost?

Passengers will be billed for their hotel stay, and Ottawa has suggested the cost could be about $2,000. It’s unclear if two people sharing a room would have to pay double that amount.

Many people have questioned how a three-day stay in a hotel could total $2,000. The government says the amount would also cover related expenses, such as the cost of the test, transportation, hotel security and added health protections for hotel staff. Presumably, meals would be included as well.

“It’s not just simply the cost of a hotel room,” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said on Jan. 29. He added that travellers shouldn’t balk at the price tag.

“We think that if they’re going to make that choice [to travel], that they should bear the full cost and responsibility of all the measures that are necessary to keep Canadians safe.”

Any exceptions to the rule?

The government has said that there will be “limited exceptions” to the hotel quarantine requirement, but it hasn’t yet laid out who will be exempt. At a news conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that there could be some wiggle room for extreme cases.

“Obviously, there may be particular compassionate or humanitarian exceptions that must be made in given situations, and we’ll look at those,” he said.

Infectious disease physicians answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether Canada’s new travel restrictions go far enough and what’s been learned about variants. 5:41

Some snowbirds who have already received the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida have asked CBC News if they’ll be exempt from the hotel quarantine requirement.

Ottawa says no, at least not at this time.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said on Friday that it’s unclear if vaccinated people can still get the virus without developing symptoms and then infect others.

“The scientific principle underpinning the application of vaccines for international travel cannot be made at this time, because we do not know if the vaccines reduce transmission,” she told CBC News.

When will the hotel quarantine rule take effect?

The start date is still up in the air.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra suggested last Sunday that air passengers could be ushered into hotels as early as Feb. 4.

But on Feb, 2, Trudeau indicated that it could be weeks before the hotel quarantine requirement takes effect.

“We hope to have that implemented within the month — weeks to come,” he said in French at a news conference. “People are working very hard to create a system so that it is established before people start travelling for the March break.”

What happens if I refuse to comply?

In a news release announcing the new travel measures, the government also laid out the fines for breaking the country’s quarantine requirement. Violators could face serious penalties, including six months in jail and/or up to $750,000 in fines.

What about the land border?

Because the Canada-U.S. land border is closed to non-essential traffic, most of the people currently crossing into Canada by land are essential workers who are exempt from quarantine.

But some snowbirds who flew to U.S. Sunbelt states this winter shipped their cars across the border and plan to drive back home.

At this point, the hotel quarantine rule won’t apply to travellers crossing into Canada by land. But the government has indicated it’s working on tougher rules at the land border, such as a COVID-19 test requirement for non-essential travellers.

“We’re also looking at ways to further strengthen our land border measures,” Trudeau said on Friday. “We’ll have more to announce on this soon.”

Source:- CBC.ca

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Toronto FC downs Austin FC to pick up three much-needed points in MLS playoff push

Published

15 mins ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Needing three points to keep their playoff push alive, Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio and Deandre Kerr stepped up with first-half goals against Austin FC on Saturday with goalkeeper Sean Johnson doing his bit at the other end.

A 76th-minute goal by Austin’s Owen Wolff made for a nervy ending but TFC hung on for a 2-1 win.

While Toronto (11-15-3) remains on the Major League Soccer playoff bubble in eighth place in the Eastern Conference (the eighth- and ninth-place teams in each conference square off in a wild-card playoff with the winner facing the top seed in the conference), other results went their way.

Seventh-place Charlotte, 10th-place Atlanta and 11th-place Philadelphia all lost while ninth-place D.C. United tied.

Toronto midfielder Alonso Coello called it “a game we had to win.”

“It’s a big win … To see that fight tonight was important,” added coach John Herdman.

Austin (9-12-7) came into the game in 11th place in the West, two points below ninth-place Minnesota. The Texas side has won just one of its last six league games (1-4-1).

Austin outshot Toronto 7-6 (6-2 edge in shots on target) in the first half but found itself trailing 2-0 at the break as Toronto took advantage of its chances and the visitors didn’t in their first-ever visit to BMO Field, before an announced crowd of 25,538.

Toronto had a dream start, catching Austin on the counterattack in the seventh minute. A sliding Austin player dispossessed an onrushing Kerr, who had been set free by a long ball from Coello, but the ball bounced to Osorio, who beat goalkeeper Brad Stuver with a rising shot.

It was the Toronto captain’s second goal of the season in league play and his 65th for TFC in all competitions. Only Sebastian Giovinco (83) and Jozy Altidore (79) scored more in Toronto colours.

TFC went ahead on another counterattack in the 30th minute after an Austin giveaway. Osorio found Richie Laryea outpacing his marker and the wingback unselfishly sent a perfect low cross across goal for Kerr to knock home for his third of the season.

Wolff, the son of Austin head coach Josh Wolff, made it interesting with his late strike. The 19-year-old U.S. youth international, controlling a long ball, beat defender Raoul Petretta and then waited out Johnson before slotting it home for his first of the season.

Toronto survived a nervy six minutes of stoppage time as Austin pressed for the equalizer. Austin outshot Toronto 14-9 (8-3 in shots on target) and had 52.5 per cent possession.

The win evened Toronto’s home record at 7-7-0, while Austin slipped to 3-8-3 on the road.

It was a costly evening for Austin with defender Brendan Hines-Ike, midfielder Jhojan Valencia and star attacker Sebastian Driussi allpicking up cautions to miss Wednesday’s game with Los Angeles FC due to yellow-card accumulation.

Toronto defender Shane O’Neill will miss Wednesday’s game against visiting Columbus for the same reason. Toronto could be short mid-week, too. The hope is veteran centre back Kevin Long, who missed Saturday’s game after tweaking his hamstring in training, will be good to go.

Toronto has five games remaining, including three more at home as it looks to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020 when it lost to Nashville after extra time at the first hurdle.

It is a challenging road.

TFC hosts Columbus, the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami while playing away at the Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire. All but Chicago are in playoff positions.

The only previous meeting between Toronto and Austin was in May 2023, when Zardes scored a 91st-minute winner to give Austin a 1-0 win over visiting Toronto, which was then mired at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. That loss prompted a post-game outburst from Italian star Federico Bernardeschi about TFC’s drab play.

Then-coach Bob Bradley benched Bernardeschi for the next game.

Current coach John Herdman made four changes to his starting 11 with Bernardeschi and Osorio returning from suspension and Coello and Kerr also slotting in. Coello, who had missed the last eight league games with a hamstring injury, was impressive in his 59-minute return.

Both Toronto and Austin suffered home losses last time out going into the international break. Toronto was beaten 3-1 by D.C. United while Austin lost 1-0 to Vancouver.

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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CF Montreal finds its groove with 2-1 win over Charlotte

Published

17 mins ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – CF Montreal is back in the win column after securing a 2-1 Major League Soccer win over Charlotte FC on Saturday night at Stade Saputo.

Montreal’s form had suffered of late, with just one win in MLS since July, but Laurent Courtois’ squad showed a level of poise and control over the tempo of the game that had not been seen since the beginning of the season.

“What we’ve changed in the last few weeks or months in terms of our methodology or coaching, is nothing. We did the exact thing, We had the exact same words, and we expressed them the exact same way,” said Courtois. “Today, everything just clicked.”

Caden Clark scored for the first time as a Montreal (7-12-9) player in the 23rd minute, in addition to Bryce Duke’s goal three minutes later that ended up being the winner, while Tim Ream found the back of the net for Charlotte (10-10-8).

Montreal had the first major scoring chance of the match after 15 minutes of play. With a free kick roughly 25 metres away from goal, Gabriele Corbo sent a near-perfect shot smashing off the crossbar.

Montreal would continue to dictate the tempo in the opening phase, finding first blood just seven minutes later.

Following a phenomenal triple-save from Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, the ball fell to Clark who volleyed the ball into the wide-open net, picking up his first goal for the club.

“I think you don’t lose the feeling (of scoring), everything happens for a reason, you just can’t lose yourself in the chaos,” said Clark, who had missed a full season due to injury and was briefly without a club, but was grateful for Courtois’ confidence in him.

“(To have a coach’s confidence) is huge and is something I’ve had both ends of so you just can’t take advantage of that in the wrong way. I’m going to keep my discipline with the game plan and keep my head right.”

With momentum completely on their side, the home side doubled the lead just three minutes later. Montreal continued to build up play on the left flank and found a streaking Raheem Edwards in behind the defence who cut the ball back to Duke, sending the Stade Saputo crowd into a frenzy.

Just after the half-hour mark, Charlotte pulled one back through a set piece — something Montreal has struggled defending all season — as Ream rose above everyone at the back post to score his first with his new club.

The second half began in a similar fashion to the end of the first, with Charlotte pressing high up the pitch and forcing several turnovers in dangerous areas. After surviving the pressure, Montreal began to regain control of the game near the hour mark, enjoying the lion’s share of the possession while Charlotte looked to hit back on the counterattack.

“I think when we conceded that goal we were like ‘here we go again.’ 2-1 is a tough lead before halftime … and at the beginning of the half we kind of shot ourselves in the foot and they pressed a bit more, they moved a bit more forward and that opened some gaps,” said captain Samuel Piette.

“I was happy with that, it shows character. At the end of the day, we just wanted the three points and that’s what we got.”

As the game progressed, Charlotte pushed harder to find an equalizer but to no avail. With only one shot on target conceded, the second-worst defence in the league put up an impressive front and confidently rebuffed every single Charlotte attack.

“I’m a big fan of the back five’s performance in their discipline, competitiveness, and synchronization with balls in behind,” said Courtois.

“We can’t explain sometimes in a game it’s not there, they’re capable and today they showed it. Let’s see tomorrow.”

UP NEXT

Both teams are back in action on Sept. 18 away from home as Montreal will look to avenge a 5-0 rout against the New England Revolution while Charlotte visits Orlando City SC.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Calgary Stampeders, Montreal Alouettes battle to 19-19 tie

Published

21 mins ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders ended a four-game losing streak and the Montreal Alouettes remained unbeaten on the road this CFL season with a 19-19 tie Saturday.

The two clubs traded field goals in overtime for the game to end in a stalemate.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 19 or 26 pass attempts for 204 yards and scored a rushing touchdown for Montreal (10-2-1) in his third start since he was sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Montreal kicker Jose Maltos kicked field goals from 53 and 42 yards, and from 30 and 37 yards in overtime.

His Stampeders counterpart Rene Paredes was good from 14 and 16 yards, missed from 51 and 52 yards, and then made a pair of 42-yarders in OT in front of an announced 20,187 at McMahon Stadium.

Quarterback Jake Maier was 29-of-37 in passing for 236 yards for Calgary (4-8-1). He was restored to starter after backing up Logan Bonner in a 37-16 road loss to the Edmonton Elks.

Calgary’s Marken Michel had a touchdown catch and Dedrick Mills rushed for 122 yards.

The Stampeders led 13-10 when Paredes’ 51-yard try early in the fourth rebounded off the left upright.

The Stampeders worked the ball to Montreal’s 15-yard line with just over two minutes to go, but undid that work with two major penalties.

Paredes’ 52-yard attempt was wide right to give the ball to Montreal with just over a minute to play.

Fajardo marched the offence downfield and with a second remaining, Maltos tied the game with a 42-yard field goal.

Paredes’ 16-yard field goal gave the Stampeders a 13-7 edge, but the Alouettes continued to chase with Maltos’ 53-yarder late in the third quarter.

Calgary led 10-7 with five minutes left in the first half when backup quarterback Tommy Stevens — inserted for a short-yardage touchdown attempt — fumbled on the two-yard line and turned the ball over.

Fajardo then threw the ball out of Montreal’s end zone 50 yards to Charleston Rambo, but that drive stalled at midfield.

Montreal’s Mustafa Johnson recovered teammate Justin Sambu’s knock-down of a Maier pass and rumbled for the end zone as the clock ticked down on the half.

Stampeder running back Peyton Logan brought down the defensive tackle at the five-yard line to preserve Calgary’s three-point lead at the half.

Montreal’s Sean Thomas-Erlington blocked a Cody Grace punt and corralled the ball in the end zone early in the second quarter.

Instead of a touchdown, however, the Alouette was assessed a penalty for roughing the kicker.

But Walter Fletcher’s 55-yard dash up the middle set up Fajardo’s three-yard touchdown early in the quarter.

Maier threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Elks on Labour Day, which prompted the quarterback shuffle.

Maier threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Michel in the end zone Saturday on Calgary’s second possession.

The hosts didn’t convert Montreal’s fumble on the subsequent kickoff into a bigger lead.

James Letcher Jr. lost the ball on the Alouettes’ 23-yard line. The Stampeders settled for a 14-yard field goal by Paredes and a 10-point lead after the opening quarter.

PERPETUAL PAREDES

Calgary kicker Rene Paredes moved into a tie for second in all-time Stampeder games with his 224th on Saturday. He drew even with defensive back and kicker Larry Robinson (1961-75). Kicker Mark McLoughlin (1988-2003) is the all-time leader with 276.

INDIGENOUS NIGHT

Saturday’s Indigenous Night game was radio broadcast in the Blackfoot language by Butch Wolfleg and Jacob Leblanc, in addition to the customary English broadcast.

Stampeder players wore orange jerseys during warm-up and their helmets featured a special horse logo to honour and raise awareness of thousands of Indigenous children sent to residential schools.

UP NEXT

The Stampeders are home Friday to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Montreal Alouettes continue a run of three straight road games Saturday against the Ottawa Redblacks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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