christmasoompa

Yup, the ban has just been extended to 31st March. They can still leave though, it's only new applications made from outside the US that are the issue.

DigitalGhost

I think they're just a little bit afraid to do so atm. It can't be easy for them though, they hadn't actually been there very long pre-Covid.

The other way OM could fulfil his plan would be to take a 2 week holiday in Mexico or the Caribbean and then fly up to Calgary from there relaxed and with a nice tan and via a US connection if necessary. Some of the hotels in Mexico are even offering free PCR tests to visitors from the US, Canada and Europe.

Obviously the only things you really need to do that are the time and the cash to spare. Tbh, it's a route that I would take but unfortunately I don't have the time due to personal commitments.

christmasoompa

It's certainly one way around the Canadian quarantine requirements - but rather risky, convoluted and expensive!

DigitalGhost

Well it's not even really getting around Canadian requirements as I understand. It's just about being able to fly through the US. Right now OM is perfectly eligible for the Alberta program, he just has limited means to exercise that right.

Gozit

So what I hoped and hoped would not be happening is happening. Grandparent in Malta is in hospital w/ unidentified lung condition. I literally just lost a Grandparent here in Canada unable to see her or say goodbye properly due to covid rules. I have a sinking feeling I may need to get on a plane. Asking in this thread for a little assistance/advice. I think the earliest I can fly is Thursday night on Turkish from YYZ-IST-MLA arriving in Malta around 1845 Malta time Friday evening. I need a PCR here within 72 hours of arrival into Malta which seems a little problematic given the results are 48 hours here even with shoppers drug mart asymptomatic testing. Doable but cutting it close.

SO far all i've looked into is the one way flight down, unsure about coming back to Canada I would want to come via YYC and spend the 14 days there so i'm not holed up in the house. I'm not working and have little obligation here so I would be able to stay as long as needed. But worried about health of grandparent #2 here. Sometimes you just cant win..

BristolUK

@ Gozit

No advice, just hope you can work something out.

DigitalGhost

Im so sorry for your loss.

Honestly I wouldn't worry about this too much for now. You cant really make flight plans too far in advance atm so my recommendation would just be to get to Malta and then figure out a return plan when you come to it.

Jerseygirl

I know why you want to travel, but I bet a caring grandparent or any other relative, would not want you to put yourself at risk. You may also put others at risk in Malta and when you travel back to Canada.

I know it’s difficult. Many of us who live overseas have not been able to be with loved ones, even in preCovid times. We have to sometimes accept, when families are spread over different countries, it is not always possible to be with a loved one in their final hours, or attend the funeral.

I am sorry you find yourself in this situation. I hope your grandparent recovers.

Revin Kevin

It would be cutting it close but I would suggest you get the test result then book your flight(s) as currently availability isn't an issue and also the airlines seem to have suspended their usual practice of lifting the legs of those booking at the last minute.

OrangeMango

It's all fine with me what you are writing. It's just that sitting in a room for 14 days seems impossible to me, regardless if others have done it, or claim they had done it, but in reality also bended the rules to their advantage like leaving for brief shopping arround the corner. At least I am honest about what I can do and what I can't, however I also can't stay out of Canada forever. I am also aware that other users here in this forum have different opinions on this, one of them a specific moderator.

Going via Alberta is not really "dodging", but following the rules on entry in Alberta. The question is only how long is Alberta going to offer this option, that is, if you get a direct international flight to Calgary, or any international flight, leaving Europe and arriving in Calgary. If the flight from Amsterdam to Calgary doesn't go anymore, and US option is not an option and maybe going from Europe via Mexico may be possible? ( however that sounds a bit daring, as Mexico has rather high infection rates, and one would be causing more harm than good...)

I am very frustrated that Ontario doesn't offer this option as they have done testing on a voluntary basis for quite some time now, and haven't done anything like in Alberta. It makes you wonder why at Pearson airport they are doing voluntary testing at all, never intending to implement the same options as in Calgary?

I have already come to the conclusion that I would have to sit it out until Jan 2022. The Canadian government is most likely to continue insisting on quarantine and prolong this requirement every 2 months until the end of the year. I am also frustrated that they can't give any clear sign, when or under which circumstances the quarantine obligation may or even could be lifted. ( Poland for instance has done so, if one shows proof of vaccination) They are also likely to tighten the entry rules into Canada even more, I think. Ankle bracelets to track movement, or insisting on staying at the airport hotel, it'll be something like that from March / April onwards.

The thing is that the Canadian government knows that nobody can sit in a room for 14 days straight and order food to the door, and they also know they don't seem to have all the powers to police it. 14 days in a room / apartment is like a sentence for a crime one didn't commit, or at least it feels for many. And just like the British secret service always thinks of Russians, and as the French think of red wine and sex, the prisoner always thinks of escaping..... It's just the nature of things, thus rules can only get tighter.

The very thought that currently the Canadian government offers absolutely no idea when or under what circumstance the quarantine obligation will be lifted, totally frightens me.

Siouxie

You don't have to stay in ONE room, as you are very well aware. You can book an Air bnb / a lakeside cabin or anything else you like - you just have to remain within the confines of theproperty boundaries - you could rent a half acre property if you could afford one and wander the grounds at will, provided you didn't have contact with anyone else! You can have outside space to walk around in.. you just can't go to a store or down the road to the coffee shop.. you can have groceries delivered, alcohol delivered, meals delivered.. and no, people don't 'bend the rules' unless they are stupid. There are big fines for not complying.
I'd be happy to help you find something within your budget if you need to return but want to have a comfortable environment with outside space to stay in. (and no I wouldn't be keeping an eye on you, I don't think Hamilton would be an area that you would want to stay, lol).
These are probably a bit expensive (although cheaper than many hotels), but there's lots of others
https://www.vrbo.com/en-ca/cottage-r...uni_id=2379850
https://www.vrbo.com/en-ca/cottage-r...uni_id=4410831
Perhaps the Alberta route is your only viable option if you truly don't believe you can stay anywhere for 14 days, but as you mention, Mexico might be problematic (and not particularly safe). Do bear in mind that you are still required to have a quarantine plan for 14 days, even with the Alberta pilot.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

DigitalGhost

I would be extremely surprised if that happened. Canada isn't Korea, Singapore or Australia and its human rights charter doesn't work that way. Right now they seem to be focusing on discouraging Canadians already in the country from travelling, be it between provinces or internationally.

And I agree with you that using the the Alberta system isn't dodging anything but you could have taken that option last year. You would have been able to do it from anywhere and without a PCR/LAMP test. Everyone's circumstances are unique but your only restriction international travel-wise is that wouldn't have been able to connect to Calgary via Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or the United States.

OrangeMango

I think we've discussed this once, but it will in the end only be a subject we both disagree on.

It's either the Alberta option, or the risk and the fines getting caught, or the option of staying out of Canada quite possibly until the end of 2021.

And then there might be the unexpected, and that would be if Pearson airport would offer the same option as in Alberta, however, this is highly highly unlikely.

DigitalGhost

Tbh I would find staying in one of those far more depressing than staying in a downtown condo or a hotel with a private balcony but that's just me. I prefer bright neon lights, sky scrapers and cement and have never been a suburbia person. I once lived on St Clair West and I would walk to Korea Town at weekends for shopping and lunch but I found parts of the walk quite claustrophobic and depressing because the whole 'white picket fence and SUV on the drive' look just does nothing for me.

DigitalGhost

If you don't need to return in a hurry and you're comfortable staying in Malta until the end of 2021 then why not just take that option?