Trudeau Gov't To Drop COVID Travel Measures Within Weeks? Including ArriveCan?
Many Canadians are not aware of the fact that still, unvaccinated Canadian's returning home from travel must quarantine for 14 days and take mandatory tests. This is regardless of whether they have COVID or not.
Further, unvaccinated foreign travellers are still not allowed into Canada. The United States has also held strong on this policy, not allowing foreign travellers in who are unvaccinated since 2020. But that is about to change in Canada it seems.
The rules on the unvaxxed, random testing and masking have been heavily criticized by border villages, tourism groups, the union representing border guards, and the opposition Conservatives.
Various sources in Canada have been reporting to news outlets that the final details are being worked out to lift the remaining measures here in Canada by Sept 30.
On June 20, 2022, unvaccinated Canadians got their right to board a plane, train or cruise within Canada back, not it seems by Sept 30 they will also have the right to board a plane and travel to countries who are allowing unvaccinated travellers in. They will also not have to quarantine for 14 days or test upon return.
Keep in mind, vaccinated Canadians who test positive for COVID-19 do not even have to isolate. Yet an unvaccinated person who tests negative has to.
It also appears the controversial ArriveCan app may become optional as well. Canadians may not be obligated to fill it out when coming home, but can use the app to complete their customs declarations if they like.
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech took to Twitter to call the potential improvements a "positive signal."
“Hopefully, it includes a transition of mandatory masking on airplanes, as well, and turn masking to ‘recommended but optional’ as it becomes increasingly unenforceable!”
Alexis von Hoensbroech, WestJet CEO
Interestingly, masking remains a source of dispute inside the government, with many cabinet members eager to abandon it. Health Minister Jean Yves Duclos wants to keep masking requirements in place until after the election. For what reason? It is not clear.
The benefits of masking have been extremely debated over the course of the pandemic, with some studies suggesting they provide no benefit, while others suggesting they provide very minor benefit, perhaps a 10% reduction in transmission - which is not significant.
Some feel masking requirements have become nothing more than pandemic theatre. Imagine this, an American planes departing from a Canadian airport will stop enforcing the masking requirement as soon as the door is locked for departure. Near the Canadian airport? There is COVID risk, depart, and it goes away. This suggests that the science is not clear on these issues, and that decisions being made are political for the most part.
The Trudeau government has stuck to their COVID policy very strongly over the course of the pandemic, and only begun to loosen up the more their own party anonymously suggested there is no reason or science to support Trudeau's measures.
Below is a video Pulse founder Joe Martino produced discussing the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbrRecCIPL4
Locally, COVID restrictions have been lifted by all Premiers around Canada, no matter the political affiliation. Yet Federally, Trudeau has hung on, and many believe it is simply political.
Now, people may think that even further as Pierre Poilievre recently won the election for Conservative Party leader.
Poilievre has promised many times over that he would lift these remaining restrictions and get rid of ArriveCan. It's more than likely that to put himself on more even terms with Poilievre in the eyes of Canadians, Trudeau will drop the remaining measures.
The question is, will this reveal that these restrictions have been nothing but political for the last 8 months? And this leads to the bigger question: if citizens lives have been toyed with political parties for decades, can we truly say that our political systems and overall societal structures work in favor of citizens? Or is it more for the ruse and benefit of the ruling class?