BORDER MEASURES SET TO BE DROPPED
Vaccine rules to end, Arrivecan optional: report
OTTAWA • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed to let a cabinet order enforcing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements at the Canadian border expire at the end of this month.
The news was confirmed by two senior government sources, who spoke to The Canadian Press on the condition they not be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Citing a government source, CBC News reported Thursday that the government would also stop random COVID-19 testing at airports and make the use of the Arrivecan app optional.
The government is expected to announce the changes on Monday.
The federal cabinet was meeting Thursday afternoon but cabinet approval is not required to allow the order to expire, as the version agreed to in June said it would expire on Sept. 30.
It is still deciding whether to maintain the requirement for passengers to wear face masks on trains and airplanes.
Masking rules for airplanes and trains are not contained in the same order and will be discussed separately.
While domestic travellers have been able to fly without proof of vaccination since June, international arrivals are still required to show proof of two COVID-19 shots. Unvaccinated Canadians can enter the country, but they face a 14-day quarantine, while foreign visitors are simply banned.
After briefly suspending random testing at airports, the government required some travellers to get tested shortly after they arrive at offsite facilities.
The Arrivecan app has been mandatory since November 2020, first forcing travellers to disclose their COVID-19 symptoms and then as of last year requiring them to input their vaccination status into the app.
Many MPS in the Liberal caucus have been encouraging the government for months to leave the rules behind.
Border town mayors, airlines, airports and many other groups have all been pushing the government to scrap the Arrivecan app for months. The app has experienced glitches that ordered travellers to quarantine unnecessarily.
Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu, who represents Sarnia, Ont., said Wednesday that it's past time the government scrapped the app and vaccine mandates.
“I hope they obliterate it because at the borders, this has caused a huge issue, big reductions in Americans coming over for tourism and economic activities. So I'm happy to see it gone.”
On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country will ease COVID-19 border control requirements next month.
Japan has maintained some of the strictest border measures among major economies since the pandemic's onset, having effectively blocked entry to visitors for two years until it began a gradual reopening in June.
Kishida's announcement, made during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange, follows a pledge he made in May that Japan would bring its border controls more in line with other Group of Seven nations.
“We are a nation that has flourished through the free flow of people, goods and capital,” Kishida said on Thursday.
“COVID-19, of course, interrupted all of these benefits, but from Oct. 11, Japan will relax border control measures to be on par with the U.S., as well as resume visa-free travel and individual travel,” he said.
Japan's insistence that visitors obtain visas to enter the country and then adhere to planned, package tours has been a major sticking point.
Prior to the pandemic, Japan had visa waiver agreements with nearly 70 countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union, and many Asian neighbours.
THIS HAS CAUSED A HUGE ISSUE, BIG REDUCTIONS IN AMERICANS COMING OVER.