New rules requiring air travellers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering Canada will kick in on Jan. 7, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said today.
The new requirement, announced Wednesday, covers all air passengers five years of age or older.
Under the new rule, travellers must receive a negative result on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test — the standard nose swab test for detecting active COVID-19 infections — within 72 hours of boarding a flight to Canada.
There are two possible outcomes for passengers who fail to obtain PCR tests prior to departure, Garneau said in an interview with CBC News.
“One is, 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 said. “If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate … that there was no facility, then they can be admitted onboard.”
Travellers who can prove that they were unable to get a test abroad will have to quarantine at a federally-approved facility upon their return for 14 days.
Documentation of a negative test result must be presented to the airline prior to boarding a flight to Canada, according to a government news release.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do is to provide information on the locations where testing is provided in the different foreign countries,” Garneau said. “At the same time … counterfeiting unfortunately sometimes happens and you can’t totally cover every base.”
WATCH | Transport Minister Marc Garneau on new testing requirements for air travel:
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses Ottawa’s new measure requiring travellers entering Canada to possess a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding their plane. 8:22
Airline industry frustrated by timeline
The minister said foreign and domestic airlines have the next seven days to implement the policy, a timeframe Garneau said was enough to comply with the new requirements.
“I know that we’ve been talking with the airlines, and they will rise to the occasion on this new requirement for pre-departure testing,” he said.
But the president and CEO of the National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents the country’s largest carriers, said one week isn’t enough time.
“Our primary concerns are the timeframe, the extremely tight timeframe, and the lack of information and guidance as to what we are going to be obligated to do,” Mike McNaney told CBC News in a separate interview.
“Implementation of a broad policy like this is a very complex activity. You obviously have to have communication to your own front line employees around the world. You have to work with regulators and other jurisdictions.
“We do not know what will be deemed to be properly certified testing labs to provide results. We do not know the acceptable format for passengers to provide the information and be in compliance with the government policy. We do not have regulation and we do not have guidance material at all.”
It’s frustrating, said McNaney, because the airline industry has been pushing for more testing.
“There’s a great level of frustration within the industry in terms of how we are now proceeding in this very rushed fashion,” he said.
Garneau said airlines have shown they’re able to quickly handle “sudden situations” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada’s airline industry has accused the federal government of implementing the new policy too quickly and failing to properly consult carriers. (CBC)
John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive and lecturer at McGill University’s global aviation leadership program, said the swift introduction of a new testing policy is likely adding pressure to an already strained relationship between the federal government and the airline industry — which has been pleading for a pandemic bailout.
“While [the government hasn’t] said it’s forbidden by law, they strongly recommend people not travel. And industry is basically saying, come on down, the flights are open, weather’s nice, it’s nice and warm in the sunny Caribbean,” he said.
“Christmas is a very, very important time of year for carriers to be able to fill their airplanes and make some money and that’s what they’re doing.”
Gradek said more communication with the airlines could have helped to smooth things over.
“You’re seeing a lot of angst and … a lot of potential distrust between the carriers and Transport Canada and that’s got to stop,” he said.
“We’ve got to really make sure that we’re looking at doing this thing as an industry, as a regulator, and making sure we’re both looking at the same issue and talking on the same sides of our mouth when we talk about policy. We can’t keep going with this … tussle going on between Transport Canada and the aviation industry.”
Conservatives voice concern as Bloc pushes for more tests
The Official Opposition accused the Liberal government of introducing more “instability” to Canada’s embattled airline industry.
“The Liberals’ new bright idea is to have international airline workers with no ties to Canada act as COVID-19 screening agents. The lack of rationale, clarity and confusion created by the Liberal government’s half-baked announcement leaves airline workers and Canadians abroad in limbo,” read a media statement from Conservative critics Michelle Rempel Garner, Stephanie Kusie and Pierre-Paul Hus.
The Trudeau Liberals just caused mass confusion for Canadians abroad, poor health outcomes, and more problems for Canadian airline workers. My statement on their bungled announcement on pre arrival testing here <a href=”https://t.co/gy4LgYwQsU”>https://t.co/gy4LgYwQsU</a>
On Wednesday, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said it will be up to travellers to arrange for PCR tests themselves, given that those embarking on non-essential trips overseas have chosen already to flout public health guidelines.
“The government of Canada obviously is not in a position to set up in hotels or all-inclusive resorts or Canadian consulates,” he told CBC News.
The new rule does not replace Canada’s mandatory 14-day quarantine period for international travellers, which remains in force.
Garneau also said Thursday the government will be boosting its surveillance efforts to make sure travellers are following the rules. The penalties for breaking the Quarantine Act can include six months in prison or $750,000 in fines.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Thursday that the testing requirement should apply to all travellers, not just those arriving by air.
In a media statement, he also said the government should reimburse those who have had to cancel vacations due to the pandemic.
The federal change came a day before Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips resigned after returning from a controversial Caribbean vacation while the province is under strict lockdown measures that discourage non-essential travel.
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.
