Despite reassuring words from the minister of transport last week, airlines have been told new regulations that come into effect Thursday are not expected to give them the power to exercise their own discretion and allow travellers to board planes to Canada if they were unable to get a negative COVID-19 test abroad, CBC News has learned.
The airline industry received briefings from government officials Tuesday about the draft regulations, according to airline industry sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the regulations are not finalized yet.
The sources said that in the days before the rules come into effect there is still a lack of clarity and details. But the airlines’ understanding is that the proposed rules would order airlines to turn away anyone who doesn’t have a negative COVID-19 test taken within either 72 or 96 hours of the flight, depending on the location, said the industry sources.
The only exception, the sources said, is if travellers are in locations on a government list where the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test — the standard nose swab test for detecting active COVID-19 infections — is not widely available to travellers.
But so far, Canada’s consular services around the world are still determining the availability of the testing in different regions, said the sources.
As of Tuesday, only a few locations — Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland, and Haiti — are expected to be exempt from the rules and do not require proof of a negative test, sources said the airlines were told.
Airlines say rules could leave Canadians stranded abroad
The proposed rules are at odds with the impression Marc Garneau gave the public last week. The minister of transport told CBC News that if travellers can show they couldn’t obtain COVID-19 tests abroad, they can still board flights home — but they’ll need to quarantine in a federally regulated facility in Canada.
“If they haven’t got the test result and there are clinics available, they will have to reschedule their departure because they won’t be allowed on board,” he told CBC News on Dec. 31. “If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate … that there was no facility, then they can be admitted on board.”
But the industry sources said airlines don’t have that kind of wiggle room or discretionary authority built into the draft regulations, which go into effect Thursday.
In a letter obtained by CBC News, the heads of Canada’s major airlines wrote Garneau this week saying there is a “real risk that Canadians will now be stranded abroad.”
Airline industry sources say the government’s draft regulations do not give airlines the discretionary power to allow passengers on board who do not have proof of a negative COVID-19 test. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
The ministers of transport, foreign affairs and public safety are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon about the pre-departure testing requirements.
The government said it would be introducing the new testing regime last week, following multiple reports of Canadians — including political figures — travelling abroad for the holidays in defiance of government advisories against non-essential travel.
The government has already said the new rules say that travellers five years of age or older must receive a negative result on a PCR test within 72 hours before boarding a flight to Canada.
The rules include a small list of countries where for one week travellers will be allowed 96 hours, rather than 72, before departing to provide negative test results, the industry sources told CBC News.
The government has come under criticism for saying the new rules were coming without consulting with airlines first.
CBC News reported on Tuesday that, in their letter to Garneau, the airline presidents and CEOs said implementing the new rules by Thursday wasn’t feasible. The heads of Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Sunwing — along with two major trade associations, the International Air Transportation Association and National Airlines Council of Canada — asked for the start date to be moved to Jan. 18.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Friday travellers ‘can be admitted on board’ if they could demonstrate to the airline it wasn’t possible to get a COVID-19 test abroad. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
“With the current timeframes and lack of clarity and detail, we must note particular concern over the very real prospect of Canadians of all ages being denied boarding and stranded at destination, in the current context of significantly reduced flight frequencies and over‐stretched airline, government and consular resources due to the pandemic,” said the letter.
But Garneau’s office said in a statement the plans will move ahead on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET. He is expected to share more details publicly on Wednesday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the minister’s office reminded Canadians that travel restrictions and measures can change on short notice.
“We are reaching dangerous case numbers in areas across the country and we cannot afford to stop the important work being done to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” said Garneau’s spokesperson Allison St-Jean.
“Despite a challenging environment, airlines have played an important role since the beginning of the fight against COVID-19 and we are confident they will continue to do so.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
