News
How sick Canadian travellers are masking COVID-19 symptoms to get through airport screening – CBC.ca
Canadians desperate to return home from abroad in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic are easily circumventing air travel screening aimed at preventing sick and infected passengers from boarding planes, CBC News has found.
Some are simply hiding symptoms from officials to ensure they can get back home.
CBC News has found a number of instances where sick travellers have boarded airplanes back to Canada, no matter the risks of spreading infection.
“Now is just the worst time to be coughing, sneezing or reporting any kind of symptom at an airport,” said one university student in Toronto, who flew home from Spain on March 14. She admitted she purposely hid her symptoms and the fact she’d been suffering a fever hours before boarding the flight.
“It wasn’t information you volunteered. So I just stayed quiet about it.”
CBC has agreed to withhold her name to shield her from backlash, given that she travelled two days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced anyone with symptoms would be barred from boarding return flights, and given that she was only officially diagnosed with COVID-19 after she got home.
WATCH | Canadian woman talks about decision to fly home despite feeling ill
She said she wasn’t sick when she bought her ticket, but developed a fever the day before her flight and took precautions to wear a mask and gloves on the plane to prevent the spread of any illness.
Although she didn’t technically flout the rule set out by the government, her experience reflects that of many Canadians stuck abroad during the pandemic.
“My priority was just being able to get on the first flight back to Canada. You know, no matter what the consequences were,” she said, citing pressure from her university, the Canadian government and family, who all implored her to come home.
Her case demonstrates just how weak Canada’s screening of air travellers is, given it relies solely on voluntary reporting of symptoms.
Even the “enhanced screening” adopted in recent days amounts to a simple series of health questions put to air travellers and does not involve any physical detection, testing or thermal screening now being used in many other countries.
Temptation ‘to lie’
Jane Salhani of Aurora, Ont., which is north of Toronto, flew home from Munich on Sunday aboard an Air Canada flight where an obviously sick traveller had passengers and attendants on edge.
“This one woman, she was wearing a mask. She coughed the entire nine hours. I mean, everybody on that flight was extremely unnerved by it,” Salhani told CBC News. (Disclosure: Salhani is related to one of the authors of this article.)
Salhani recalled airline officials asking passengers whether they felt ill or had fever before boarding, but figured it isn’t terribly effective in keeping sick people off planes.
“I’m sure the temptation is there to lie, because you want to get home to your own health system … if you’re not feeling well, right? You don’t want to be stuck in a foreign country,” she said.
Now at home in self-isolation with her husband, Salhani wondered whether airline and public health officials will be in touch about potential exposure. She noted the sick passenger was taken aside and interviewed on arrival at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, as all arriving passengers were handed pamphlets instructing them to self-isolate for 14 days.
“I’m sure we got on that plane healthy,” Salhani said. “I’m not sure we got off that plane healthy.”
Reliance on honour system
The World Health Organization issued an advisory in mid-February calling on all countries to question all travellers about symptoms, and to implement “detection of ill travellers” at airports and border crossings to stem the COVID-19 outbreak.
Canada, facing criticism over a lack of screening both at international airports and upon arrival in Canada, imposed new orders to all airlines last Wednesday to prevent travellers with COVID-19 symptoms from boarding international flights to Canada.
But the “health check” imposed by Transport Canada — billed as “detection of ill travellers” — is a total honour system that simply requires airline staff to observe boarding passengers and ask them if they’ve felt ill or have had a fever.
Both Air Canada and WestJet said they have barred some passengers from boarding flights, but declined to say just how many.
CBC has spoken to many travellers who’ve recently returned to Canada who noticed the new questions posed when they boarded their flight homes.
Eugene Haslam, who flew home to Montreal from Paris on Sunday on Air Transat, said the airline had signs, overhead announcements and staff asking questions before boarding. But he acknowledged this approach will only work if travellers are honest.
He said that he understands the need to “act accordingly” and not put “others at risk,” but acknowledged that other travellers think differently.
“A lot of people will say, ‘Screw it! I don’t care!’ And that’s where the problem lies,” Haslam said.
‘We don’t have superpowers’
The situation has air crews and their unions calling for more safeguards to prevent sick travellers from boarding aircraft.
“We’re being told daily that there are people coming back ill. [There are] people coming back, you know, wearing masks, protecting themselves, but they’re still ill passengers,” said Wesley Lesosky, president of the Air Canada Component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
WATCH | Union president describes some of the anxiety airline workers feel
He said flight attendants are currently exempt from the 14-day self-isolation rules and that many are worried they are being unfairly exposed to the virus.
“We don’t have superpowers. We need to realize that we’re humans, too. And we can contract the same things that a passenger can on board,” he said.
Canada has not yet adopted measures to test arriving passengers for the coronavirus, as is being done in at least a dozen countries around the world.
Commonly these are temperature checks or thermal screenings to detect passengers with a fever, and it’s being done in countries like the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Indonesia.
A number of Canadians flying home from Mexico this past week report that airport authorities in that country are screening all passengers for fevers using thermal-sensing cameras, noting Canada has no such technology in place.
‘Dangerous’ working conditions
Signs of stepped-up screening at the four Canadian airports that are still receiving international flights — in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal — include increased signage and additional Canadian Border Services Agency officers asking passengers questions.
Flight attendants say its simply not enough.
In recent days, they have been provided N-95 masks and gloves, but one flight attendant for Air Canada who works on transatlantic flights said she and her colleagues are being put at risk.
“Why aren’t we forced to quarantine when we get back home?” she asked. (CBC is not naming her as she is not authorized to speak publicly.)
“If I’ve caught something, I pass it on to many, many more!” she wrote in a text message. “We are just going to keep spreading it all over the world again.”
“As much as I’m proud to repatriate all my fellow Canadians, I’m also getting scared to work in these dangerous conditions.”
With files from Matthew Pierce
News
New Peggys Cove bylaw brought in amidst complaints of unfairness – CBC.ca
Peggys Cove now has a new bylaw to guide development and protect the iconic fishing village’s heritage, but some say the process to create those rules was unfair.
After more than two years of consultation and five different drafts, this week the province approved a new land-use bylaw that will replace one from 2003.
It aims to preserve the “authentic, traditional fishing village” spirit of the cove, while allowing commercial uses where residents can benefit financially from the thousands of tourists who flock to see the area and lighthouse.
But Paul Paruch is one of many who have voiced concerns about conflicts of interest with the Peggy’s Cove Commission, which led the process with support from Upland Planning consultants.
“[I’m] very disappointed, let down,” Paruch said Thursday.
Paruch and his wife, Claire, had hoped to see their property zoned commercial, as Claire has run a hotdog stand there for years. The couple bought a home there with plans to retire and also rent it out, Paruch said, which would also not be allowed.
The new bylaw addresses everything from dwelling size to regulations on building materials. It also has turned many residential lots along Peggys Point Road into mixed-use “core” zoning that would allow for commercial, residential and community purposes.
Vendors and buskers are no longer allowed in the cove, unless they’re accessory to a special event.
Brian Cottam said the new bylaw is a major blow for him and his wife, Kelly Westhaver. Although an early draft of the bylaw zoned their land at 173 Peggys Point Road as commercial, that changed to residential after other residents voiced concerns about having that zoning so close to the lighthouse.
A sale of $1.3 million fell through on the land because a core designation was a condition of the purchase, Cottam said.
“This sale was going to allow us the ability to relax a little and enjoy life, but that has been stripped away,” he said in an email.
Bylaw ‘effectively expropriates’ private land: lawyer
Another property owner, Eleanor McCain, will be getting the commercial zoning she pushed for to allow for new businesses.
However, a lawyer for McCain did raise concerns about how the conservation zone was applied to the rocky waterfront side of her client’s land and many others in the cove. Nancy Rubin of Stewart McKelvey said in a letter to the commission the move “effectively expropriates” private land without any evidence of why it was needed or if it was based on any scientific studies.
Paruch, Cottam and McCain have argued the commission members who run their own commercial enterprises, or are connected to businesses in the cove, are in direct conflicts of interest. The commission is made up of residents, the sitting councillor and representatives from the province to make decisions on changes in the area.
Three commission members must be from the community, but where there’s about 40 permanent residents, it is hard to avoid friendships and family ties.
The Nova Scotia ombudsman’s office is investigating the commission following recent complaints. Both Paruch and Cottam said they had hoped this independent report would lead to the province rejecting the proposed bylaw.
But John Campbell, a lifelong cove resident and owner of the Sou’wester Restaurant in the village and other properties, said the bylaw strikes the right balance.
“I think overall it’s going to be a good thing, but you know when you go through a process like this, not everybody’s going to be happy,” Campbell said.
Campbell said he’s become an “easy target” for the arguments around conflicts of interest, as his daughter Nicole Campbell is commission chair. He said he didn’t get everything he wanted in the new bylaw, pointing out that his request for land to be zoned commercial near the lighthouse was refused.
Campbell agreed that something should change with the makeup of the commission to avoid conflicts in the future, but more analysis should be done on what the fairest approach is.
“It’s a very unique place, Peggys Cove, and you know it’s good to have discussions about it,” Campbell said. “It’s my community that I grew up in, and my closest friends are in, and you know I feel like I could make a living there.”
Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek said she has faith in the commission’s process, and nothing in the draft report from the ombudsman prevents her from approving the bylaw.
She said the province is also looking at modernizing the legislation governing the commission and the area.
“I think this is an important step, but … it is a first step,” Corkum-Greek told reporters Thursday.
The bylaw will see a new development officer appointed to handle permits and variance requests, while anyone who wants to change their zoning can apply to the commission.
News
Ontario Legislature keffiyeh ban remains, though Ford and opposition leaders ask for reversal – CBC.ca
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.”
“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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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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