Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Starting Tuesday, travelers heading to Canada will potentially have to deal with mandatory random COVID-19 testing for anyone entering the country.
It was on Thursday when the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced the re-implementation of random testing for fully vaccinated air travelers at four major Canadian airports, including Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. This comes just a little more than a month after the measure was initially paused.
"The only difference that's happening now was the temporary suspension of random testing at the airport is now being reinstated," explained Jamie Fiegel, partner at Fiegel, Carr and Joyce Immigration Law Firm. "The random testing at the border never stopped, and the government had announced the temporary suspension of the airport testing, in order to get the travelers moving again. There was a really big backlog. So they're seeing that they have things under control, now they're going to reinstate the random testing back at the airports."
After filling out their customs declaration, travelers will be notified via the ArriveCAN app whether they've been randomly selected for COVID-19 testing. It will detail how they can arrange their tests, as they will be conducted offsite, either at in-person appointments or using virtual appointments and self-swab tests.
What this means for air travelers is they should budget more time in their travel plans for the potential of being randomly selected.
"The random testing has a different kind of scenario based upon the ArriveCAN app, so pay attention to everything that's going on," Fiegel recommended. "You will be given specific instructions, the government will be providing either the test kit to you, or instructions on how you can make an appointment at a test center to get that done while you're in Canada."
Fiegel admits that she's not sure if the reinstatement of this measure could be a sign for the beginning of more restrictions coming back as we approach the colder months of fall and winter again. However, at this time, she does not see this measure being too much of a travel impact for people flying into Canada.
"It's a pain. It just takes more time, and it is a little bit of a hassle to get it taken care, get it done and get it submitted," Fiegel said. "So they should be expecting that, but I think that if it does become a huge time waster again the government may re-think it again and suspend it another time from there."
Fiegel also has some words of advise for travelers that may be entering Canada but then leaving right away, such as those traveling through Canada to get from Buffalo to Detroit.
"In that case, the testing seems moot because they're going to be leaving right away to be able to go back into the States. It's only a pass through," she said. "I would advise people that if they are going to do that, they can say I'm not even going to be in Canada long enough to take this test. That's probably the biggest thing I hear. But other than that, it's pretty much business as usual, with the exception of the random testing that's going to be at the airport again."
While COVID-19 restrictions continue for travelers entering the country, many communities along the U.S.-Canada border continue to be fed up with the measures already in place, including the use of the ArriveCAN app.
"Canada could do a lot better job at its borders," said Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati. "What's most frustrating for us is that they're not consulting with people on the front lines, and they're creating their own narrative. I can tell you that political leaders, business leaders, [the medical community], Canada Border Services and the list goes on, we're all united in our disappointment with the whole ArriveCAN app approach to the border. It's been a failure."
In some of his recent conversations with medical experts, Diodati says that some experts believe ArriveCAN does absolutely nothing to help better COVID-19 from entering the country.
"What it does, it chokes tourism, it chokes cross-border shopping, it chokes off family connections, and it disadvantages seniors and people who feel that they're being discriminated against because they don't have a lot of prowess when it comes to digital technology," Diodati said. "A lot of them don't have smartphones, a lot of them have their flip phones, and senior citizens are very upset. They feel that this is unfair, and they're say they're willing to show their passport for proof of citizenship, they're happy to show their vaccination status, but they're offended that they've got to be digitally tuned in to be able to upload and download programs that don't make us any safer."
Diodati calls the implementation of the ArriveCAN app and other COVID-19 measures in place a "manmade disaster", because of the effects it has had on tourism and business in Canada at the hands of some bureaucrats in Ottawa.
"Tourism in Canada is a $105 billion industry, and [COVID-19 measures are] killing it," he added. "American visitation is way, way, way down, and we're just really, really frustrated. And I spoke with these ministers said, 'This is not helping. It's definitely hurting. We need to eliminate it.' And it's been very, very frustrating that they've now extended [ArriveCAN] to September. We don't understand it. We're scratching our heads. Science doesn't back it, business doesn't back it, local politics doesn't back it. We're wondering where these crazy ideas are coming from. We're very, very frustrated."
The effects of the restrictions are not only being felt with the tourism industry and business in Canada, Diodati also says it's about families who've been split up by all the cross-border measures.
"I'll say this, in the beginning, we supported these measures. In the beginning, we understood why it was being done. It was being done to keep COVID out of the country. Well, we now know from science - we've always said we'd follow the science - 99% of all COVID spread is from within the community. So by having strict border measures, it's a complete waste of time," Diodati said.
As for how long these measures could be in place, Diodati and other local leaders in Canadian municipalities are unsure of just how long they will last. They have been told by government officials that the decisions are coming from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has not been consulting with anybody to find out what's the best option for those entering the country.
"We don't know what it's going to take," Diodati said. "We're hoping that because we have, what's called, a minority government in Canada, that the Liberal government - the Trudeau Government - is being propped up by the opposition, the NDP [New Democratic Party]. We're hoping for some common sense, regarding our borders. We've got our hands up in the air right now. It's very, very frustrating."
More from Mayor Diodati is available in the player below:
