Canada-US border town mayors urge for ending Covid test requirement for travellers
Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Nov, 2021 11:46 AM
Ottawa, Nov 9 (IANS) Some border town Mayors on both sides of the Canada-US border held a virtual news conference to urge Ottawa to cancel the Covid-19 test requirement for fully vaccinated travellers.
The conference was held on Monday as the US reopened its land border with Canada to fully vaccinated recreational travellers after 19 months of closure, reports Xinhua news agency.
The reopening of the world's longest undefended border is seen as a sign that restrictions are loosening and more international leisure travel may be on the horizon.
The Mayors said a big obstacle for travellers still remains as when entering Canada, they must take a molecular test such as a PCR test, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
They said the requirement for a PCR test to return to Canada is unreasonable and costly, calling the requirement a hard stop barrier for families to reunite except for the wealthiest of Canadians.
They argued that while the US land border is now open, the cost of Canada's test requirement will continue to hamper a return to tourism on both sides of the border.
When entering Canada, no matter how short their trip, travellers must take a pre-arrival molecular Covid-19 test such as a PCR test, which can cost anywhere from C$150 to C$300.
Canada's test requirement first caused complaints earlier this month when the US announced it would reopen its land border to fully vaccinated travellers on November 8, and not require them to take a pre-arrival Covid-19 test.
Travellers heading into the US at major land border crossings experienced wait times of up to three hours in some areas on the first day in 20 months that fully vaccinated Canadians were allowed to cross for non-essential visits, according to CTV.
Bruce Ralston, the minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, says B.C.'s charger rebate program will receive $10 million as part of the budget this year to support installations of the charging stations.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says those groups and people who are most immunocompromised were vaccinated first and are getting to the point of waning immunity just ahead of flu season.
Michael Pickup says an audit of B.C.'s final budget accounting for the 2020-21 fiscal year under-reports revenues by $6 billion, which does not give a clear representation of the province's financial position.
Business and labour groups are urging the new federal cabinet to get to work on priority economic issues like the skilled labour shortage, supply chain issues, fixing employment insurance and ensuring an equitable recovery.
The agency says in a statement that time estimate is from a salvage master and team that were able to board the MV Zim Kingston Monday night. Danaos Shipping Co., the ship's owner, says it is co-operating with Canadian officials and has contracted a firefighting company to help fight the fires.
Some 93 per cent of respondents whose kids trick-or-treated last year intend to have them go candy hunting again this Sunday, according to a new survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies.
