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As U.S. prepares to reopen border, some urge Canada to relax testing requirement – CBC.ca

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This item is part of Watching Washington, a regular dispatch from CBC News correspondents reporting on U.S. politics and developments that affect Canadians. 

What’s new

The U.S. is about to reopen its land border with Canada to non-essential travel. And it won’t require visitors to show a negative COVID-19 test; proof of vaccination will suffice.

Cue the calls for Canada to apply the same standard.

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Members of the U.S. Congress are expected to send letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of Parliament asking Canada to drop the testing requirement for vaccinated travellers.

The hassle of getting tested will discourage people from taking advantage of the restored right to cross-border travel, said one member of Congress.

New York Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat, said proof of vaccination should be enough.

“Testing is redundant,” he said Wednesday, one day after the U.S. confirmed it will reopen the border early next month. 

“It will lead to a lot of Canadians that will be reluctant to come into the United States … There’s a cost associated with that. It’s also an additional administrative step that I think is unnecessary.”

What’s the context

These calls for ending test requirements have one key goal: attracting more Canadian travellers. Same-day trips represent a huge percentage of Canadian travel to the United States.

According to data from Statistics Canada, day trips comprised nearly half of all Canadian travel to the U.S. in 2019 — and two-thirds of trips taken by car.

The current Canadian testing requirements make that difficult.

To enter Canada, recreational travellers need to provide evidence of a COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of entry. It can’t be a rapid antigen test, but rather must be a molecular test.

It takes one to two days to get those results at a leading U.S. pharmacy chain and can cost $139 US per sample. Canadian citizens can present a negative test performed in Canada, as long as it’s no more than 72 hours old when they return to the country.

The testing hurdle is still an issue for border communities most reliant on day travel, such as Buffalo, N.Y., for example, which Higgins represents in Congress.  

WATCH | Congressman Brian Higgins says entry rules for Canadians who received mixed COVID-19 vaccines are coming:

U.S. lawmaker says guidance on mixed vaccines could come soon

13 hours ago

The U.S. will soon allow fully vaccinated Canadians to cross the land border, but it has yet to issue guidance on mixed vaccines. Congressman Brian Higgins says he expects the White House to clarify the issue in the coming days. 7:19

Point Roberts, Wash., is another striking case.

The lack of same-day travel has devastated that community’s economy. The town relies on people from the Vancouver area visiting the seashore, eating at a restaurant and picking up some groceries or gas before returning to Canada.

Brian Calder, the head of the local chamber of commerce, says he’s worried the new travel rules won’t mean much unless Canada relaxes its rules.

The tiny community has only two testing clinics per week, Calder said. It takes more than a day and costs $150 US to get the results.

“[Canadians] aren’t going to come down [with these rules],” he told CBC News.

What’s next

Recreational travel into the U.S. by land will resume next month, the White House has announced.

Travellers will need to have proof of vaccination, but a White House official said: “No, there will not be a testing requirement.”

Higgins said members of Congress will be writing to Trudeau and other members of Parliament, urging them to adopt the more-lenient U.S. rule on testing.

Entering Canada requires a molecular COVID-19 test that costs more than $100 US and often takes more than a day to get. Critics in the U.S. say that makes many trips across the land border impossible. (David Ryder/Reuters)

He said that authorities are eroding their own message that vaccines work well by instituting additional requirements beyond vaccination.

Will Canada heed calls to relax the testing requirement?

Ottawa isn’t saying anything more about that for now.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair noted on Wednesday that the federal government accepts negative PCR tests that are up to 72 hours old for incoming travellers. That rule means that Canadians making day trips to the U.S. can take their COVID-19 test before leaving and use it when they re-enter, rather than relying on a private test in the U.S.

WATCH | Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says Canada hopes to have an answer from the U.S. on mixed doses and crossing the border before the end of this month:

U.S. to open land border for fully vaccinated Canadians in early November

13 hours ago

Will Canadians with mixed vaccine doses also be able to cross into the U.S. via land crossing next month? “I don’t want to get ahead of the advice the CDC will give to the American government,” says Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, “…we’re hoping to have that information for Canadians before the end of this month”. 9:12

“If [Canadians] want to go over and do some shopping, it will be relatively straightforward for them to return to Canada,” Blair told CBC’s Power & Politics.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said longer-term rules haven’t been finalized yet. During a trip to Washington on Wednesday, she repeated the same reply when asked by reporters about the test rules in French and English.

“We are working to clarify and finalize all the details with our American partners,” Freeland said.

WATCH | Mayor of Windsor, Ont., reacts to land border reopening:

Mayor of Windsor, Ont., reacts to land border reopening

11 hours ago

Mayor of Windsor, Ont., Drew Dilkens joins Power & Politics to discuss the U.S. land border reopening to fully vaccinated Canadians next month, what the requirements will be and whether the U.S. will recognize a mixed-dose vaccine schedule. 7:37

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Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca

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Keffiyehs remain banned in the Ontario Legislature after a unanimous consent motion that would have allowed the scarf to be worn failed to pass at Queen’s Park Thursday.

That vote, brought forth by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, failed despite Premier Doug Ford and the leaders of the province’s opposition parties all stating they want to see the ban overturned. Complete agreement from all MPPs is required for a motion like this to pass, and there were a smattering of “nos” after it was read into the record.

In an email on Wednesday, Speaker Ted Arnott said the legislature has previously restricted the wearing of clothing that is intended to make an “overt political statement” because it upholds a “standard practice of decorum.”

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“The Speaker cannot be aware of the meaning of every symbol or pattern but when items are drawn to my attention, there is a responsibility to respond. After extensive research, I concluded that the wearing of keffiyehs at the present time in our Assembly is intended to be a political statement. So, as Speaker, I cannot authorize the wearing of keffiyehs based on our longstanding conventions,” Arnott said in an email.

Speaking at Queen’s Park Thursday, Arnott said he would reconsider the ban with unanimous consent from MPPs.

“If the house believes that the wearing of the keffiyeh in this house, at the present time, is not a political statement, I would certainly and unequivocally accept the express will of the house with no ifs, ands or buts,” he said.

Keffiyehs are a commonly worn scarf among Arabs, but hold special significance to Palestinian people. They have been a frequent sight among pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an end to the violence in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas� war continues.

Premier calls for reversal

Ford said Thursday he’s hopeful Arnott will reverse the ban, but he didn’t say if he would instruct his caucus to support the NDP’s motion.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Ford said the decision was made by the speaker and nobody else.

“I do not support his decision as it needlessly divides the people of our province. I call on the speaker to reverse his decision immediately,” Ford said.

WATCH | Ford talks Keffiyeh ban: 

Ford says division over keffiyeh ‘not healthy’

12 hours ago

Duration 1:20

Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated Thursday that he does not support Speaker Ted Arnott banning keffiyehs in the Ontario Legislature because they are “intended to be a political statement,” as Arnott said in an email Wednesday.

PC Party MPP Robin Martin, who represents Eglinton–Lawrence, voted against the unanimous consent motion Thursday and told reporters she believes the speaker’s initial ruling was the correct one.

“We have to follow the rules of the legislature, otherwise we politicize the entire debate inside the legislature, and that’s not what it’s about. What it’s about is we come there and use our words to persuade, not items of clothing.”

When asked if she had defied a directive from the premier, Martin said, “It has nothing to do with the premier, it’s a decision of the speaker of the legislative assembly.”

Stiles told reporters Thursday she’s happy Ford is on her side on this issue, but added she is disappointed the motion didn’t pass.

“The premier needs to talk to his people and make sure they do the right thing,” she said.

Robin Martin answers questions from reporters.
PC Party MPP Robin Martin voted against a unanimous consent motion Thursday that would have overturned a ban on Keffiyehs at Queen’s Park. (Pelin Sidki/CBC)

Stiles first urged Arnott to reconsider the ban in an April 12 letter. She said concerns over the directive first surfaced after being flagged by members of her staff, however they have gained prominence after Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, posted about the issue on X, formerly Twitter.

Jama was removed from the NDP caucus for her social media comments on the Israel-Hamas war shortly after Oct. 7. 

Jama has said she believes she was kicked out of the party because she called for a ceasefire in Gaza “too early” and because she called Israel an “apartheid state.”

Arnott told reporters Thursday that he began examining a ban on the Keffiyeh after one MPP made a complaint about another MPP, who he believes was Jama, who was wearing one.

Liberals also call for reversal

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie also called for a reversal of the ban on Wednesday night.

“Here in Ontario, we are home to a diverse group of people from so many backgrounds. This is a time when leaders should be looking for ways to bring people together, not to further divide us. I urge Speaker Arnott to immediately reconsider this move to ban the keffiyeh,” Crombie said.

WATCH | An explainer on the cultural significance of keffiyehs:  

Keffiyeh: How it became a symbol of the Palestinian people

4 months ago

Duration 3:08

Keffiyehs are a common garment across the Arab world, but they hold a special meaning in the Palestinian resistance movement.

Stiles said MPPs have worn kilts, kirpans, vyshyvankas and chubas in the legislature, saying such items of clothing not only have national and cultural associations, but have also been considered at times as “political symbols in need of suppression.”

She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous members have also dressed in traditional regalia and these items cannot be separated from their historical and political significance. 

“The wearing of these important cultural and national clothing items in our Assembly is something we should be proud of. It is part of the story of who we are as a province,” she said.

“Palestinians are part of that story, and the keffiyeh is a traditional clothing item that is significant not only to them but to many members of Arab and Muslim communities. That includes members of my staff who have been asked to remove their keffiyehs in order to come to work. This is unacceptable.”

Stiles added that House of Commons and other provincial legislatures allow the wearing of keffiyehs in their chambers and the ban makes Ontario an “outlier.”

Suppression of cultural symbols part of genocide: MPP

Jama said on X that the ban is “unsurprising” but “nonetheless concerning” in a country that has a legacy of colonialism. “Part of committing genocide is the forceful suppression of cultural identity and cultural symbols,” she said in part. 

Sarah Jama
Sarah Jama, Independent MPP for Hamilton Centre, is pictured here outside her office in the Ontario Legislature wearing a keffiyeh. (Sarah Jama/Twitter)

“Seeing those in power in this country at all levels of government, from federal all the way down to school boards, aid Israel’s colonial regime with these tactics in the oppression of Palestinian people proves that reconciliation is nothing but a word when spoken by state powers,” she said.

Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, said on X that it is “deeply ironic” on that keffiyehs were banned in the Ontario legislature on the 42nd anniversary of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“This is wrong and dangerous as we have already seen violence and exclusion impact Canadians, including Muslims of Palestinian descent, who choose to wear this traditional Palestinian clothing,” Elghawaby said.

Protesters who blocked a rail line in Toronto on Tuesday wear keffiyehs. The protest was organized by World Beyond War on April 16, 2024.
Protesters who blocked a rail line in Toronto on Tuesday are shown here wearing keffiyehs. The protest was organized by World Beyond War on April 16, 2024. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Arnott said the keffiyeh was not considered a “form of protest” in the legislature prior to statements and debates that happened in the House last fall.

“These items are not absolutes and are not judged in a vacuum,” he said.

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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club – The Hockey News

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Best in Canada: Jets Beat Canucks to Finish Season as Top Canadian Club  The Hockey News

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Health Canada sperm donation rules changing for gay men – CTV News

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Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.

The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.

The policy change would remove the current donor screening criteria, allowing men who have sex with men to legally donate sperm for the first time in more than 30 years, as part of the anonymous donation process.

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This update comes after CTV News first reported last year that a gay man was taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

According to an email Health Canada sent stakeholders informing them of the upcoming amendments to the federal directive, “sperm donors will instead be asked gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions,” more in-line with the 2022 change made by Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy. 

However, instead of entirely eradicating restrictions for gay and bisexual men, lawyer Gregory Ko – whose client, Aziz M., brought the case – cautioned that Health Canada will continue to bar donations from those who have had new or multiple partners in the last three months, based on rules regarding anal sex. CTV News has agreed to protect the full identity of Aziz M. out of concerns for his privacy.

Ko said while the update is an important milestone, his client intends to maintain his challenge against the Health Canada directive, “and the continued discrimination contained in this latest revision.”

“Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations,” Ko said.

Currently, a Health Canada directive prohibits gay and bisexual men from donating sperm to a sperm bank for general use, unless they’ve been abstinent for three months or are donating to someone they know.

For example, it stops any gay man who is sexually active from donating, even if they are in a long-term monogamous relationship.

Under the “Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation,” sperm banks operating in Canada must deem these prospective donors “unsuitable,” despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.

While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.

It’s a blanket policy that the Toronto man bringing the lawsuit said made him feel like a “second-class citizen,” and goes to the heart of the many barriers that exist for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians looking to have children.

When CTV News first reported on the lawsuit, Health Canada and various federal ministers said they would be “exploring” a policy change, citing the progress made on blood donation rules.

The update comes following “the consultations held in August 2023 and January 2024,” according to Health Canada.

This is a breaking news story, more to come… 

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