CANMORE, ALTA. —
Several fully vaccinated Canadians have been forced to quarantine for two weeks after returning from day trips to the U.S. and failing to pre-register on the ArriveCAN app, a requirement for re-entry.
Last month, the federal government adjusted pandemic-era travel rules to allow fully vaccinated Canadians to re-enter the country within 72 hours without providing a negative PCR test, a decision widely celebrated by those who live near the U.S. border.
However, travellers are still required to submit mandatory information, including proof of vaccination, date of travel, and quarantine plan in the ArriveCAN app before returning to the Canadian border – leading to confusion for many returning from day trips.
“It feels like I’m being punished for not being able to navigate the ArriveCAN app,” Surrey, B.C. resident Martin Turo told CTV Vancouver Friday.
On Thursday, Turo crossed the border to pick up a package in Blaine, Wash. Although he registered his trip on the ArriveCAN app, the 70-year-old, who admits he is not tech-savvy, could not figure out how to upload his vaccine details.
“I brought that vaccine passport with me and (the border guard) didn’t even want to look at it,” said Turo.
Turo is now under a 14-day quarantine order, despite having two COVID-19 vaccinations plus a booster shot, and only spending 30 minutes south of the border.
Similarly, Rick Minchin and his wife spent four hours in Blaine on Tuesday, before heading back to New Westminster, B.C., through the Pacific Highway border crossing. Unaware of the ArriveCAN app requirements, the couple were mandated to quarantine by the border official they spoke with.
“We tried to discuss with him: ‘Can we turn around? Is there anything else we can do?’ He basically said ‘no,’” explained Minchin.
Toronto-area woman Laurie Fonseca was also slapped with a quarantine order after spending just seven hours shopping across the border in Buffalo, N.Y.
“It was like being kicked in the gut,” Fonseca told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. “I’m basically bound in my house for 14 days and I’m a Canadian citizen, fully vaccinated — this makes absolutely no sense to me.”
Fonseca says she asked the CBSA officer whether she could park her car and fill out the registration then but was denied.
According to the Canada Border Services Agency, many Canadians have failed to register their trips on the app since the new rules came into effect on Nov. 30. Yet, while some travellers CTV News spoke to have been permitted to turn around, download the app and return to the border, not everyone has been given that opportunity.
“Subjectivity is the hallmark of arriving at the Canadian border,” Ryan Neely, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer, told CTV Vancouver. “It’s more an officer’s decision if they want to send you away and give you time to fill out that app.”
Use of the app has drawn criticism from those who worry seniors and Canadians with disabilities may not be able to navigate the app.
The federal government notes that if you have accessibility needs or a compatible smartphone, you can submit your information through the browser version of ArriveCAN on any computer.
According to the ArriveCAN website, the government is working to make the mobile app accessible, adding, “if you aren’t able to use ArriveCAN due to accessibility needs, you won’t be denied boarding or entry into Canada.”
However, the website also notes that travellers who do not check in using the ArriveCAN feature may face delays due to additional questioning and potentially “be subject to enforcement action.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
The ArriveCAN app is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. The ArriveCAN iPhone app is compatible with any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running iOS 12.0 or later. On Android, the app requires Android version 6.0 or newer.
Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be asked to submit mandatory information including proof of vaccination, date of travel, and quarantine plan. This must be done before you arrive at the border to re-enter Canada.
Upon arrival, a Canadian Border Services officer will ask to see your ArriveCAN receipt. If you’re not carrying a smartphone or other device, be sure to have a printout of your ArriveCAN receipt ready.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
