Confused about Ottawa‘s strict new rules designed to discourage travel during the COVID-19 pandemic?
You’re not alone.
After the federal government announced the new travel measures on Jan. 29, CBC News was flooded with emails from Canadians yearning to know more — including how Ottawa came up with a $2,000 hotel quarantine bill.
So far, the government has offered only broad details about the new rules, but it promises to provide more information in the coming days.
Here’s what we know now.
Some of the government’s new travel measures are already in place. On Jan. 31, Canada’s major airlines — in an agreement with Ottawa — cancelled all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.
Several American airlines still fly from Canada to those destinations, but passengers will encounter at least one U.S. stopover along the way.
Canada’s airlines are still flying to the United States, because essential workers need to travel between Canada and the U.S. during the pandemic, Transport Canada told CBC News on Thursday.
Canada-bound passengers must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flight, and all flights entering the country are now being funnelled into four major airports in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
According to the federal government, most air passengers entering Canada will soon be required to take another COVID-19 test upon arrival and wait for the results — up to three days — in a designated hotel. Passengers who test negative can leave and finish the rest of their 14-day quarantine at home.
Those with positive test results will be expected to stay in the hotel.
Passengers will be billed for their hotel stay, and Ottawa has suggested the cost could be about $2,000. It’s unclear if two people sharing a room would have to pay double that amount.
Many people have questioned how a three-day stay in a hotel could total $2,000. The government says the amount would also cover related expenses, such as the cost of the test, transportation, hotel security and added health protections for hotel staff. Presumably, meals would be included as well.
“It’s not just simply the cost of a hotel room,” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said on Jan. 29. He added that travellers shouldn’t balk at the price tag.
“We think that if they’re going to make that choice [to travel], that they should bear the full cost and responsibility of all the measures that are necessary to keep Canadians safe.”
The government has said that there will be “limited exceptions” to the hotel quarantine requirement, but it hasn’t yet laid out who will be exempt. At a news conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that there could be some wiggle room for extreme cases.
“Obviously, there may be particular compassionate or humanitarian exceptions that must be made in given situations, and we’ll look at those,” he said.
Infectious disease physicians answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether Canada’s new travel restrictions go far enough and what’s been learned about variants. 5:41
Some snowbirds who have already received the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida have asked CBC News if they’ll be exempt from the hotel quarantine requirement.
Ottawa says no, at least not at this time.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said on Friday that it’s unclear if vaccinated people can still get the virus without developing symptoms and then infect others.
“The scientific principle underpinning the application of vaccines for international travel cannot be made at this time, because we do not know if the vaccines reduce transmission,” she told CBC News.
The start date is still up in the air.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra suggested last Sunday that air passengers could be ushered into hotels as early as Feb. 4.
But on Feb, 2, Trudeau indicated that it could be weeks before the hotel quarantine requirement takes effect.
“We hope to have that implemented within the month — weeks to come,” he said in French at a news conference. “People are working very hard to create a system so that it is established before people start travelling for the March break.”
In a news release announcing the new travel measures, the government also laid out the fines for breaking the country’s quarantine requirement. Violators could face serious penalties, including six months in jail and/or up to $750,000 in fines.
Because the Canada-U.S. land border is closed to non-essential traffic, most of the people currently crossing into Canada by land are essential workers who are exempt from quarantine.
But some snowbirds who flew to U.S. Sunbelt states this winter shipped their cars across the border and plan to drive back home.
At this point, the hotel quarantine rule won’t apply to travellers crossing into Canada by land. But the government has indicated it’s working on tougher rules at the land border, such as a COVID-19 test requirement for non-essential travellers.
“We’re also looking at ways to further strengthen our land border measures,” Trudeau said on Friday. “We’ll have more to announce on this soon.”
Source:- CBC.ca
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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