Canada has no plans to change negative test requirement for all inbound travellers, public safety minister says
Less than 24 hours after the U.S. announced it will reopen its land border to non-essential Canadian travellers, requiring proof of vaccination, but not a negative COVID-19 test, Ottawa said Canadians shouldn’t expect a reciprocal change.
“At the present time, the advice is we intend to retain (the PCR test),” Bill Blair told CTV’s Power Play.
“It has proven to be exceptionally effective in securing the safety and security and health of Canadians,” Blair told host Evan Solomon.
Canada has long required all returning travellers to provide an approved negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of flight departure time for airline passengers, or within 72 hours of arriving at the land border for those crossing on the ground.
Dr. Brian Conway, the medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, said the latest testing figures from the border showed a continued need for caution.
“We’ll have to be very careful. It’s not zero risk,” Conway said.
Data from Health Canada shows that between Aug. 9 and Sept. 30, 292 travellers who were fully vaccinated and were subjected to randomized testing at land and airport crossings tested positive for COVID-19.
That’s less than 0.2 per cent of the tests administered, but Conway called it a “significant number.”
“There will be cases acquired from people who go from Canada to the United States and bring them back into Canada,” Conway said.
"The information from the past two months is telling us that. It may even increase," he added.
The U.S. also plans to require all international travellers to show proof they are fully vaccinated, whether flying or driving across the border.
Canadians returning north are required to be fully vaccinated in order to avoid a two-week quarantine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.