Advertisement

End ‘irrational’ COVID-19 testing at U.S. border, Canadian tourism group says

Click to play video: 'Pressure growing on federal government to lift Canada’s PCR test requirement for travelers'
Pressure growing on federal government to lift Canada’s PCR test requirement for travelers
WATCH: Pressure growing on federal government to lift Canada's PCR test requirement for travelers – Oct 15, 2021

Pricey and “irrational” COVID-19 tests, along with “discriminatory” quarantine policies for kids, are making it difficult for families to travel even when all adults are fully vaccinated, according to members of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable.

All travellers over the age of five, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test in order to enter the country. Rapid antigen tests are not adequate under Canada’s rules.

That can cost between $150 and $300 for each test, making it prohibitively expensive for many families.

Meanwhile, children can’t attend school, camp or daycare, be in crowded places or take public transportation for 14 days once they return home to Canada.

Story continues below advertisement

“It’s irrational,” said Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who is also co-chair of the roundtable. “It simply doesn’t make sense.”

Beatty joined members of the travel and tourism industry at a press conference Thursday to call on the federal government to remove “unnecessary and non-science-based” obstacles to international travel for families.

Click to play video: 'Land border reopening welcome news for travel industry'
Land border reopening welcome news for travel industry

“The critical consideration here is that people be doubly vaccinated,” said Beatty, who served as federal health minister under former prime minister Brian Mulroney from 1989 to 1991.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“If somebody coming into Canada can demonstrate that they’ve been doubly vaccinated, then they meet the criteria for being low risk in Canada.”

David Schwartz, a father of two who lives in Ottawa, said travel is out of reach for his family right now.

Story continues below advertisement

His family hoped to be with his in-laws in Texas to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this winter, but molecular tests for all of them would add $800 to $1,000 to the cost of the trip.

They also can’t manage to keep both kids home for an extra two weeks after the trip is over.

A negative test with no symptoms should be enough to allow kids to return to school after travel, he said.

“We’ve done everything we could to support the pandemic effort as a family. We got vaccinated, we stayed home, we missed those family milestones,” Schwartz said.

“We’re asking the government today to please change the rules so we can begin to get back to normal life.”

Click to play video: 'The Travel Lady: What you need to know before crossing the U.S. border'
The Travel Lady: What you need to know before crossing the U.S. border

The latest figures from the Public Health Agency of Canada show that of all COVID-19 tests completed at the border on vaccinated travellers between Aug. 9 and Oct. 21, only 0.18 per cent were positive.

Story continues below advertisement

For unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travellers, 0.91 per cent were positive.

Last week, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said test requirements at the border are “very much a live issue,” but that she still believes pre-departure tests are an important layer of protection to prevent COVID-19 cases being imported to Canada.

“For now, we haven’t shifted that policy, but we’re reviewing that on an ongoing basis,” Tam said Oct. 29. “Especially during a period of time when Canada is still, in many areas, battling the fourth wave.”

Sponsored content

AdChoices