Travellers welcome, critique change to restrictions

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This article was published 01/10/2022 (1114 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

All federally imposed COVID-19 travel restrictions, including testing, reporting and quarantine requirements for people entering Canada ended Saturday.

The changes mean travellers no longer need to provide proof of vaccination and are not required to wear masks aboard planes or trains. People entering Canada will not be subject to random tests for the virus, and unvaccinated travellers do not need to isolate upon arrival.

“I think that everyone needs to weigh the risks for themselves personally,” said Madelaine Wernham, a physician from Ontario who flew into the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Saturday morning.

“Everyone should have the right to choose (whether to wear a mask). I think that at this point in the pandemic, we are getting to a place where people are learning to live with the virus.”

Wernham, who chose not to wear a mask during her flight, said roughly 80 per cent of her fellow travellers were also unmasked — including much of the airline staff.

Earlier this week, the Liberal government announced it would not renew the cabinet order maintaining the pandemic border measures, instead allowing it to expire Sept. 30.

Canada has passed the peak of the latest pandemic wave, federal health ministers said, pointing to high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, and the availability of rapid tests as factors in the decision.

The end of the travel restrictions also means people will no longer be required to fill out the ArriveCAN app, which has drawn criticism from users and officials alike.

Travellers can continue to use the app for advance declaration, but the feature is only available at the Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal airports. It is expected to become functional at airports across the country, including Winnipeg, in the coming months.

The federal government plans to continue expanding the application’s features to provide users with information on border wait times and more self-serve functions, it said.

Wernham said she is fine with the federal government’s choice, as long as COVID-19 data continues to be monitored.

“It would be futile to come up with a firm decision when there’s so many variables, so I think it does need to be flexible. It really just depends on where infection rates are at, and then healthcare resources,” she said.

Other travellers, like Trudy Cheeseman, were less comfortable with the nixed mandates.

“(The government says) the pandemic is over, I don’t believe them,” she said. “I think it’s terrible. They went from one extreme to the other.”

Cheeseman, a retired teacher travelling from Newfoundland to Manitoba, said she has become frustrated with the inconsistency around health regulations throughout the pandemic.

“There should be no grey area,” she said.

Cheeseman did not wear a mask during her flight but said the government should continue to enforce masking requirements, not just during travel but in all public spaces.

Kent Ledda had just finished his shift in the airport’s Root 98 restaurant when he learned about the decision to end the COVID-inspired travel requirements. He voluntarily wears a mask while working because he feels it is more hygienic in the kitchen, he said.

Ledda says he flew once during the pandemic and experienced nausea while wearing his mask on the plane, so he understands why people might prefer to go unmasked. Overall, he did not feel strongly one way or the other, he said.

Another woman, who asked not to be identified, said she works at Manitoba’s Legislature and believes the decision to end the restrictions is inspired by political posturing rather than public health.

She wore a KN95 while travelling from home to Winnipeg from Montreal. It was the first time she had travelled during the pandemic, and she feels the restrictions should continue to be enforced, she said.

“(The government) is just bowing to the (public) pressure. I don’t think there’s any scientific rational… people are sort of tired of the pandemic and think we’re back to normal, and ignoring all the healthcare system collapse,” she said.

“If you find somebody wearing a mask, they are either immunocompromised and aware of the risks, a doctor… or someone whose had to pay attention to the pandemic because of their job.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca