Gozit

Honestly at this point i've reverted from being angry to just almost sad... it's almost been 2 years since i've seen certain family and there is talk of tighter restrictions on the Canadian border. Almost a year since i've left the country, and that may be insignificant to some but travel was one of my biggest hobbies so it has been a big loss this past year. One of the reasons I love Canada so much is that it affords me the ability to have a career and lifestyle that I can afford to leave the country multiple times a year.

It seems even with research and vaccines we are no further along then we were in March 2020.

Gozit

Thank you to those mentioning my grandparents... Sorry my reply is short replying from my phone. I haven't made plans to go yet, his condition is stable and he may be home by end of week, we will see. Just getting my ducks in a row in case I/we need to go. My uncle did go over from the middle east so they have help for now.

I'm not going to just not travel if it's needed for this purpose, it is not a non-essential vacation.

OrangeMango

There is political gain to be made. If you just got 51% of approval on even tighter restrictions, it'll be most likely be done. Trudeau also has ample reason for political gain......

However there is absolutely no scientific evidence which bars Ontario to introduce the same requirements as Alberta.

DigitalGhost

I think the only argument I can kind of understand with Ontario is that most international travellers enter through Pearson. In an average year, Toronto's passenger numbers are double that of Vancouver. The demand would no doubt be much higher and obviously with the increased demand comes an increased level of potential risk.

Ironically Pearson has testing on arrival but other than potentially a bit of peace of mind, it doesn't benefit the traveller in any way. It does seem like they're looking for low hanging fruit though. International travellers make up a very small fraction of infection and are already subjected to more scrutiny than any other group however the media and the politicians seem perpetually obsessed with them. It isn't just Canada exhibiting this behaviour either, the UK is very much the same way and the less said about the US and Australia, the better.

OrangeMango

I noticed early on that especially CTV has that obsession.

I truly think that the process in Alberta should be mandatory for all borders in Canada as it's way way easier to control and to enforce.

The issue is that Pearson airport has the most activity, as you said, they would then have to upgrade staff for that task.

Apart from that the British mutation will dominate in the long run, no matter what. It won't stop at any border, it's mostly already in every country. Netherlands, France and Germany as well.

DigitalGhost

A lot of speculation over the variant discovered in Kent seems to be entirely unfounded and nobody can agree on anything apart from that it is by no means vaccine resistant. I've seen some of the recent CTV coverage and much of it seems like nothing more than tabloid scaremongering although CBC isn't much better and the UK media are even worse atm.

Whether or not the Alberta program is expanded will largely depend on its rate of success I suppose but that data is hard to gather when not many direct international flights are landing there.

OrangeMango

The UK variant seems more contagious but not deadlier. The vaccines of Moderna and Pfizer also work, which is good news.

At least the UK is the only country within my reach and scope which is doing a great job on vaccination. They also seem to have the right number of doses secured, and in the UK it seems that only a personnel shortage could stop their vaccination initiative.

That scaremongering and the constant thought what politics comes up next in terms of entry requirements and restrictions are the worst. It's getting more and more like in communist Russia in one of these Gulagh detention camps where they said "The questions are never dangerous, but the answers are...."

However I would actually currently support the temporary stopping of incoming flights from South Africa or Brazil. These variants are not that much explored.

DigitalGhost

That realistically achieves very little. You can't stop your own citizens and PR's from returning and whether they do that on a direct flight or via a 3rd country makes very little difference. Canada has only imposed one travel ban so far and that was on direct flights from the UK over Christmas. They dropped it when they introduced the pre-flight test requirement. Right now the UK restricts flights from Portugal plus parts of South America and Africa and requires pre-flight testing which is quite frankly ridiculous.

Gozit

Agreed.

bats

This doesn't mean what you think it does.
It's the same for many of us. I have not seen my mother since November 2019, it's unlikely I will see her this year either as I'm not travelling until my husband's cardiac conditions is fixed, that can't be fixed until the hospitals aren't full of COVID patients. In the meantime we avoid people. My mother has been mostly confined alone to her tiny one bedroom bungalow. She doesn't complain, she's 92 and says she's resigned to the idea tgat she may never see me again. Thankfully we talk on messenger and can video chat occasionally,

This is a tough "suck it up Buttercup time" for everyone.

BEVS

So very true.

BristolUK

Life in hotel quarantine: 'I'm on day two. It's around day 11 things get difficult'

Gozit

I just said to my mom, if they introduce hotel quarantine I just may not return to Canada until it is gone lol...we'll see. But i'd rather them introduce hotel quarantine then invoke the emergency measures act and prevent us from leaving if needed.

If my grandfathers illness is serious enough we will be on a plane. "Suck it up" comments are not helpful for someone who's just lost a family member and is threatened with potentially losing another one.

Travel makes up 1.4% of Canadian cases, i'm not going to feel bad for making what should be considered an essential trip.

bats

So you'll travel to Malta and then visit a sick person putting them at risk?

Did you miss the part about others having problems too?

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OrangeMango

I mean, it's not completely ridiculous, if only it was streamlined. Streamlined and efficient and accurate testing, one before departure at the airport, one upon arrival, with similar efficiency as the x-ray system. Travel makes around 1,4% of all infections in Canada, but even if this number is brought down, to let's say 0.5%, it'll be pretty minimal.

However the overall problem is that the airline and travel industry is always there to bear the brunt and be the scapegoat for every other bad political decision in this pandemic, even though the current contribution of infection via travel is very very low. Constantly changing regulations and laws in different countries aren't very helpful in this matter, an international approach is very much required.