Government Relations Report Jim Sherb First Vice-President As many of you are aware, different provinces allow you to remain out of province for different lengths of time without having to re-qualify for your provincial health coverage. During the past 2.5 years, as a result of the hard work of the members, board and staff of the Canadian Snowbird Association, six additional jurisdictions have increased the amount of time for which travellers are permitted to remain out of province without risking their provincial health coverage from six to seven months. Since February of 2013, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories have all adopted this important travel policy. Currently, most Canadians are only permitted to spend approximately six out of every 12 months in the United States and many of our members choose to do just that. The problem which they faced when they returned home to Canada was that many of them were taking a huge risk of losing their provincial health coverage if they were absent from the province for as little as one day during the subsequent six months of the year. The snowbirds who spent the winter in the United States and wished to attend a wedding, visit their children and grandchildren or care for a sick relative in another province during the following six months of the year were effectively prohibited from doing so, unless they were willing to lose their own provincial health care (at least temporarily). Most provinces require you to remain in the province for 90 consecutive days in order to requalify. If something were to happen to you during those 90 days, you were pretty much on your own. Governments across Canada – of all political stripes – have recognized that extending allowable provincial absence limits from six to seven months was just common sense and was the right thing to do for seniors who have spent their entire working lives paying taxes and contributing to their provinces and local jurisdictions. Unfortunately, despite many discussions, Prince Edward Island is the one remaining jurisdiction that is unwilling to grant this flexibility to their residents. We are on our way to Prince Edward Island as I write this, to sit down with representatives of the official Opposition to see if we can enlist their help in building support for this initiative. As always, we will keep you posted regarding our progress. On June 22, the CSA distributed an advisory by e-mail notifying members that legislation related to the Entry/Exit Initiative had been introduced in the House of Commons. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this issue, in 2011, Canada and the United States agreed to develop a co-ordinated entry and exit information system for cross-border travellers. This system permits information-sharing so that the record of a land entry into one country can be used to establish an exit record from the other. If an individual enters the United States from Canada, it would be recorded as an exit on the system of Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Similarly, if an individual enters Canada from the United States, it would be recorded as an exit on the system of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP). Currently, Canada and the U.S. exchange biographic entry information about third-country nationals (non-U.S. or Canadian citizens), permanent residents of Canada who are not U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the U.S. who are not Canadian citizens at land ports of entry. On June 30, 2014, the information-sharing under the Entry/ Exit Initiative was scheduled to be expanded to include Canadian and American citizens. However, this expansion was delayed since the necessary legislation and regulations were not implemented in time. On March 10, 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama affirmed that both nations would proceed with the reciprocal exchange of entry and exit records of all cross-border travellers. On June 15, 2016, the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale introduced legislation, Bill C-21, An Act to amend the Customs Act, in the House of Commons which will permit Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to collect personal information about all individuals who are leaving or have left Canada. Passage of this legislation will allow for the expansion of the Entry/Exit Initiative, which will eventually include the collection and exchange of biographic entry and exit information of all travellers, including Canadian citizens. Once fully implemented, entry into one country will serve as an exit record from the other. Before any information can be shared, CBSA will have to establish information-sharing arrangements with all partners, which will include safeguards and protections regarding information management and privacy protection clauses. We will continue to closely monitor the progress of the Entry/Exit Initiative and will notify members of any new developments. CSANews | FALL 2016 | 11
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