It was just after midnight on April 17 when Jeff Geauvreau landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto after a long journey from Peru, a country hit hard by COVID-19.
He told border officials at the airport that he was returning to Canada after nearly 10 years abroad and had no safe place to complete the mandatory two-week quarantine. He had planned to stay with his elderly father, who would have been at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus.
After a brief interview with public health officials, he was told to board a shuttle bus and was driven to a federal quarantine facility about 10 minutes away.
Geauvreau is one of more than 3,000 returning travellers who have spent the two-week quarantine period at a hotel paid for by the federal government, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
“Hopefully, it wasn’t going to be, you know, barracks,” Geauvreau recalled thinking at the time. “I didn’t know what to expect.”
The quarantine facility turned out to be a “very nice” hotel, he said.
Jeff Geauvreau, shown in Guelph, Ont., on Aug. 14, is one of thousands of returning Canadians who, due to lack of adequate lodgings, spent 14 days in a hotel self-isolating as part of federal measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Geauvreau said he was examined by nurses and then accompanied to his room, which was a suite complete with bedroom, living room, bathroom and two televisions. It’s not clear if his room was typical of the kind of accommodation provided to returning travellers.
“It was plush … nice, big, bed,” he recalled. “It was a lot more than I expected. I mean, you expect the worst, and you hope for the best. And, you know, it was very nice.”
11 federal sites across Canada
As of Aug. 16, 3,222 people had been put up at hotels paid for by the government. By the end of July, the cost of providing the quarantine sites had exceeded $37 million, the PHAC said.
The bedroom of Geauvreau’s hotel suite in Toronto, where he stayed in quarantine for two weeks in April after arriving from Peru. (Submitted by Jeff Geauvreau)
“Quarantine facilities are used to lodge persons entering Canada who are unable to isolate or quarantine because they are unable to meet the conditions of the mandatory isolation order (e.g., live with a vulnerable person, do not have private transportation if they are symptomatic),” Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson Geoffroy Legault-Thivierge said in a statement.
The agency did not give a detailed breakdown of the costs but said they include accommodation, meals, transport, health checks and security. Some quarantine sites have a nurse practitioner on site 24/7.
There are 11 federal quarantine sites across the country and another two run jointly by federal and provincial governments. The 11 federal sites can house a total of 1,500 people, Legault-Thivierge said.
The rooms are available only as a last resort, PHAC spokesperson Tammy Jarbeau said in a statement.
“We expect that most travellers will quarantine in their own home or in the same place they are visiting in Canada,” she said.
“If this is not possible, travellers are responsible for making alternative arrangements for quarantine accommodations that are within their own financial means.”
Before admitting anyone into a quarantine facility, government representatives work with them to ensure “all other options … within their own means have been exhausted,” Jarbeau said.
Rooms reserved in March
The federal government reserved the hotel rooms soon after issuing a public health order on March 25 requiring a 14-day quarantine period for travellers returning to Canada.
Travellers interviewed by CBC News who stayed in the hotels said they were typically mid-range hotels located near airports.
(CBC)
Hotel Association of Canada president and CEO Susie Grynol said the group worked with Ottawa to secure a small number of hotels close to international airports to allow people to quarantine.
“We were proud to support public health in their efforts to flatten the curve, but it was not a profit-generating exercise,” she said in an emailed statement to CBC News. “At that point, most hotels were virtually closed down.”
The government will not reveal which hotels are being used as quarantine facilities to protect the privacy and security of those staying there, the PHAC said in a statement.
Food, essentials brought to the door
Vijayendra Yalavarthi, who arrived in Toronto from India in June under the federal skilled worker program, said he was taken to the hotel in an ambulance after telling border officials that his Airbnb rental had fallen through.
Both he and Geauvreau said they stayed in suites.
Food was left outside the room three times a day.
One of the meals served at the Toronto hotel where Canadians with nowhere safe to stay were quarantined by the federal government. (Submitted by Jeff Geauvreau)
“The dinner portion is really good,” Yalavarthi said. “They used to experiment a lot. They give you … like, rice with Indian recipes like paneer or curry. They … try it, and it’s really good, actually.”
Family and friends were not allowed to visit the hotel, but the Canadian Red Cross would call once a day, Geauvreau said.
“They’d see if you needed anything…. [My] USB cables were broken, so I got some USB cables,” he said. “I think I got some powdered drink mix, and [they] dropped me off a book…. If you needed emergency socks or underwear or a shirt or something, they would get it for you.”
There were health checks twice a day, during which nurses would stand outside the room, take his temperature and ask a series of questions, Geauvreau said. If anyone showed symptoms during one of these checks, they were moved to a lower floor of the hotel.
Cleaners in HAZMAT suits would wipe down surfaces in the room once a day, he said.
‘You’re not leaving that room’
Initially, Geauvreau said, it was nice to have a quiet room where he could rest and recover from the long journey.
But after a few days, the suite started to feel small and confined. And he couldn’t leave because he didn’t have a key card.
Like other returning passengers to Canada, Geauvreau was not allowed to leave the Toronto hotel room where he was quarantined for two weeks. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
“You’re not leaving that room. And once you enter the facility, when you sign [in] downstairs, you have no rights to leave, under no circumstances,” he said. “They can arrest anybody that tries to leave.”
One man “was kind of going stir crazy” and had to be subdued by security guards when he became loud and aggressive in a hotel corridor, Geauvreau said.
Yalavarthi, who arrived as a permanent resident from India, stayed at the same hotel two months later.
“The first few days, I felt like I was being jailed,” he said.
The IT professional said he was allowed to go outside to a designated walking area in a parking lot, but only while accompanied by security.
Hotel option not publicized
Both Geauvreau and Yalavarthi said they learned about the federal quarantine sites through online networks of people coming to Canada from abroad.
There is no official government website that includes details, so Yalavarthi kept it as a backup option, only opting to use the option when his Airbnb reservations fell through.
Vijayendra Yalavarthi, who arrived in Toronto from India in June under the federal skilled worker program, said he was taken to the hotel in an ambulance after telling border officials that his Airbnb rental had fallen through. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
CBC News interviewed several other travellers who expressed frustration that there were no details about the hotels available online.
Yalavarthi made a YouTube video documenting his experience to let others know about the option.
Overall, he said he is grateful for the experience and the measures the Canadian government is taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“I would really thank them,” he said.
Yalavarthi said when a family member in India got COVID-19, he did not feel well supported by the Indian government. “But here in Canada, even [if] I don’t have COVID symptoms, they’re ready to help me.”
As a recently arrived immigrant, Yalavarthi said the experience made him feel welcome in Canada and well taken care of. The experience has motivated him to give back, he said, and happy to pay his taxes to the government to help cover the costs.
“If you welcome someone, they will try to help you in future. That’s what I believe.”
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the arrival of Swifties, the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to descend on the downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars — the city estimates more than $282 million in economic impact — some worry it could worsen Toronto’s gridlock by clogging streets that already come to a standstill during rush hour.
Swift’s shows are set to collide with sports events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Raptors game on Friday and a Leafs game on Saturday.
Some residents and local businesses have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area and its planned road closures.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window,” he said.
Dayani says the group rescheduled the gathering for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, suggested his employees avoid the company’s downtown offices on concert days, saying he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” Sinclair said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Swift’s concerts are the latest pop culture moment to draw attention to Toronto’s notoriously disastrous daily commute.
In June, One Direction singer Niall Horan uploaded a social media video of himself walking through traffic to reach the venue for his concert.
“Traffic’s too bad in Toronto, so we’re walking to the venue,” he wrote in the post.
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been working for more than a year on plans to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
“We are preparing for something that would be akin to maybe the Beatles coming in the ‘60s,” he said.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to transit routes around the stadium, and the TTC has consulted the city on potential emergency scenarios.
Green will be part of a command centre operated by the City of Toronto and staffed by Toronto police leaders, emergency services and others who have handled massive gatherings including the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
Metrolinx, the agency for Ontario’s GO Transit system, has also added extra trips and extended hours in some regions to accommodate fans looking to travel home.
A day before Swift’s first performance, the city began clearing out tents belonging to homeless people near the venue. The city said two people were offered space in a shelter.
“As the area around Rogers Centre is expected to receive a high volume of foot traffic in the coming days, this area has been prioritized for outreach work to ensure the safety of individuals in encampments, other residents, businesses and visitors — as is standard for large-scale events,” city spokesperson Russell Baker said in a statement.
Homeless advocate Diana Chan McNally questioned whether money and optics were behind the measure.
“People (in the area) are already in close proximity to concerts, sports games, and other events that generate massive amounts of traffic — that’s nothing new,” she said in a statement.
“If people were offered and willingly accepted a shelter space, free of coercion, I support that fully — that’s how it should happen.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Hundreds of Taylor Swift fans lined up outside the gates of Toronto’s Rogers Centre Wednesday, with hopes of snagging some of the pop star’s merchandise on the eve of the first of her six sold-out shows in the city.
Swift is slated to perform at the venue from Thursday to Saturday, and the following week from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, with concert merchandise available for sale on some non-show days.
Swifties were all smiles as they left the merch shop, their arms full of sweaters and posters bearing pictures of the star and her Eras Tour logo.
Among them was Zoe Haronitis, 22, who said she waited in line for about two hours to get $300 worth of merchandise, including some apparel for her friends.
Haronitis endured the autumn cold and the hefty price tag even though she hasn’t secured a concert ticket. She said she’s hunting down a resale ticket and plans to spend up to $600.
“I haven’t really budgeted anything,” Haronitis said. “I don’t care how much money I spent. That was kind of my mindset.”
The megastar’s merchandise costs up to $115 for a sweater, and $30 for tote bags and other accessories.
Rachel Renwick, 28, also waited a couple of hours in line for merchandise, but only spent about $70 after learning that a coveted blue sweater and a crewneck had been snatched up by other eager fans before she got to the shop. She had been prepared to spend much more, she said.
“The two prized items sold out. I think a lot more damage would have been done,” Renwick said, adding she’s still determined to buy a sweater at a later date.
Renwick estimated she’s spent about $500 in total on “all-things Eras Tour,” including her concert outfit and merchandise.
The long queue for Swift merch is just a snapshot of what the city will see in the coming days. It’s estimated that up to 500,000 visitors from outside Toronto will be in town during the concert period.
Tens of thousands more are also expected to attend Taylgate’24, an unofficial Swiftie fan event scheduled to be held at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, Destination Toronto has said it anticipates the economic impact of the Eras Tour could grow to $282 million as the money continues to circulate.
But for fans like Haronitis, the experience in Toronto comes down to the Swiftie community. Knowing that Swift is going to be in the city for six shows and seeing hundreds gather just for merchandise is “awesome,” she said.
Even though Haronitis hasn’t officially bought her ticket yet, she said she’s excited to see the megastar.
“It’s literally incredible.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Via Rail is asking for a judicial review on the reasons why Canadian National Railway Co. has imposed speed restrictions on its new passenger trains.
The Crown corporation says it is seeking the review from the Federal Court after many attempts at dialogue with the company did not yield valid reasoning for the change.
It says the restrictions imposed last month are causing daily delays on Via Rail’s Québec City-Windsor corridor, affecting thousands of passengers and damaging Via Rail’s reputation with travellers.
CN says in a statement that it imposed the restrictions at rail crossings given the industry’s experience and known risks associated with similar trains.
The company says Via has asked the courts to weigh in even though Via has agreed to buy the equipment needed to permanently fix the issues.
Via said in October that no incidents at level crossings have been reported in the two years since it put 16 Siemens Venture trains into operation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
