What began for Eric and Kerri Langer as a quick trip to check on their New York property turned into a week-long struggle to reverse an unexpected quarantine order, all because their ArriveCAN app didn’t load when they tried to cross back home.
Their “ridiculous” problem ended with a “ridiculous” solution, the fully vaccinated Coburg, Ont., couple said. On Thursday they found themselves driving back into the U.S. and then re-entering Canada so they could re-show their proof of vaccination papers to an officer.
The second time around their papers were accepted and they were no longer required to quarantine.
“Look it, we had to fight stupid with stupid here,” Eric said while driving home afterwards.
The couple’s experience is one of many CBC News has reported on in recent months that demonstrate ongoing confusion and skepticism surrounding Canada’s land border rules.
Travellers are supposed to pre-register on the ArriveCAN application with their proof of vaccination before they enter Canada for non-essential travel. (CBC / Radio-Canada)
This summer, several travellers reported getting robocalls reminding them to quarantine even if they weren’t required to. One person was fined more than $6,000 when he forgot his email password at the border and was unable to retrieve his negative test results. And in October a Toronto man said he’d been sent other people’s test results and personal information even though he hadn’t travelled for months.
“In the court of law, we would have a right to defend ourselves,” Kerri said. “Here, you’re guilty and there is no way of proving your innocence.”
‘There’s no information. It’s crazy.’
The Langers entered the U.S. last weekend to visit their Lake Placid home for the first time since the pandemic began. They said they made sure to be well-versed on Canada’s travel rules and kept the trip under 72 hours so they wouldn’t be required to show a negative COVID-19 test result.
But when they pulled up to the Thousand Islands Border Crossing to return home Monday morning, the ArriveCAN app with their proof of vaccination wouldn’t load on Eric’s phone, he said. The officer refused to look at their printed documents and ordered they quarantine for two weeks.
As a teacher at a short-staffed elementary school, Kerri said taking that much time off work wasn’t an option. So, when they got home, Eric started making calls to elected officials, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
“The resolution should have been somebody calls to verify that we are indeed vaccinated,” Eric said. “Boom. The quarantine is lifted. But there’s nobody. There’s no information. It’s crazy.”
After a few days of persistent phone calls, he said he reached a CBSA supervisor who advised that even though they were under a quarantine order, they were allowed to drive into the U.S. and back again — a rule the agency confirmed to CBC News. If they showed an officer the right documentation, the order would be lifted.
“I think the ridiculousness of today is that I couldn’t get in my car and drive to the [grocery store] but I could get into my car and drive across the border and that was OK,” Kerri said.
Kelly Sundberg, a professor at Mount Royal University who spent 15 years as an officer with the CBSA, said this case exemplifies the issues raised in the auditor general’s scathing report this week about the federal government’s handling of its border during the pandemic.
“The rules change. How they’re enforced changes. Interpretation of these rules is dependent on the officer’s location and all in all it really does nothing to safeguard or protect Canadians,” Sundberg said.
“What it does do is cause extreme frustration and understandable hard feelings.”
CBSA accepting in-person documents, minister says
Although the Langers aren’t sure why their second time around was a success, a couple of factors were at play this week that could provide an explanation.
Eric said when they were crossing back into Canada on Thursday they were also informed by an officer the ArriveCAN app was down and therefore printed documentation was acceptable regardless of the rules.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the service disruption will run until Tuesday as the app is undergoing a scheduled update.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino rises during Question Period on December 9, 2021 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Also, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino had faced questions from the Opposition a few days before, on Monday afternoon, in the House of Commons.
“Let us talk about the ArriveCAN app that is supposed to protect Canadians but is actually making things worse at the border,” said Conservative health critic Luc Berthold.
“People are being misinformed. No one is answering the telephone to help them. Seniors without smartphones cannot travel. We are hearing stories of mandatory quarantines for triple-vaccinated people.”
In response, Mendicino said he’d directed CBSA to accept in-person information at the borders as well as on the ArriveCAN app.
The CBSA told CBC News Friday night the ArriveCAN app remains mandatory for all land travellers, but they can now show a printed receipt at the border if they don’t have a smartphone or mobile data.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
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DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
