Premier says B.C. has no plans to move spring break, asks out of province visitors to stay away

Premier John Horgan says there are no plans to amend the scheduled spring break in British Columbia.

Ontario is in the midst of deciding whether it will cancel the break in March. British Columbia public schools students are scheduled to be off from March 13 until March 28, 2021.

“When it comes to school-aged children, we’re trying to keep a sense of normalcy when it comes to our K-12 system,” Horgan said.

“When spring break arrives, our advice will be, as it has been for months and months, stay close to home. Try and stay within known bubbles.”

1:29 ‘If you don’t need to come to British Columbia, you shouldn’t be coming to British Columbia,’ premier tells out-of-province visitors

The B.C. government has been exploring options on how to restrict travel into the province for spring break, but has not imposed any additional rules for inter-provincial travel so far.

The federal government has imposed stricter travel rules for anyone arriving in Canada from outside the country. The border between the United States and Canada is currently closed for non-essential travel.

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Horgan said if the COVID-19 numbers go down there is some optimism British Columbians could be encouraged to travel within the province during the break.

“I know other jurisdictions who don’t have the same opportunities for good weather as we do here in B.C. are worried about what will happen at spring break when people in, say, Quebec and Ontario, normally would migrate in large numbers to Florida and South Carolina,” Horgan said.

“We don’t have that concern here. People will probably be pretty happy to stay in B.C., and take advantage of the many opportunities they have here.”

2:26 Dr. Bonnie Henry extends restrictions, holds out some hope for end of February

The province is currently looking at whether various provincial officials could be used to support federal government policies around travel. But those plans have not been implemented yet.

For now, Horgan is focusing on talking to premiers across the country and encouraging them to tell people to stay where they are.

4:06 B.C. reports 469 new cases of COVID-19, 6 additional deaths

“If you don’t need to be coming to B.C., you shouldn’t come to B.C.,” Horgan said.

“We will welcome you when the pandemic has subsided, but you’re not welcome today. It pains me to say that, but the best course of action is for people to stay where they are.”

Horgan said British Columbians were also being asked to stay put.

“I hope that the premiers of other provinces will say the same thing to their citizens and the federal government, the prime minister, has been saying that for a couple of weeks now,” he added.

“If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel. That holds firm well through spring break.”