Government Relations Report Ron Steeves First Vice-President As COVID-19 vaccination programs in Canada and abroad continue to roll out, the CSA remains hopeful that the next travel season will look much different than the previous one. The association continues to be active in the area of government relations, as a return to normal gradually approaches. We remain focused onmaintaining a dialogue with government officials and agencies in both Canada and the United States in order to ensure that the interests of members continue to be represented during the pandemic. While the closure of the Canada/U.S. border to all non-essential traffic was recently extended until April 21, we anticipate that these restrictions will remain in place well beyond that date as case numbers continue to rise. We will notify members through our electronic member advisories, as we have throughout the pandemic, as soon as new information is available. The CSA also remains committed to achieving passage of our Canadian Retiree Visa initiative in the United States Congress – a policy that would permit Canadian retirees to spend up to eight months in the United States annually. This would be an increase of twomonths over the current six-month limit. In the previous Congressional session, this proposal was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as theCanadian Snowbird Visa Act, H.R. 3241 and in the U.S. Senate as the Canadian Snowbirds Act, S. 2507. Association representatives are currently working on having this legislation reintroduced in both chambers during the current session of Congress. While these would be stand-alone bills in the House and the Senate, we are also working on having the provisions included in additional legislative proposals to increase the likelihood that this extension becomes law. Just as we have done in previous iterations, the CSA will ensure that these bills include a provision to shield Canadian snowbirds from becoming residents of the U.S. for tax purposes. The association has recently published the eighth edition of our Canadian Travellers’ Report Card. This publication, which we produce every two years, provides an overview of the travel-health policies and practices of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. Much of the domestic lobbying efforts of the CSA are showcased in the Report Card and we have an independent thirdparty grade each jurisdiction on five areas of importance. This is an effective document which CSA representatives utilize when lobbying provincial and territorial governments about these issues. Some of the most notable updates featured in the eighth edition include a downgrade for Ontario in the area of access to health coverage. This downgrade was due to the Ontario government’s move to terminate the provincial reimbursement program for medical emergencies for out-of-country travellers, an unprecedented policy change which violated the portability criterion of the Canada Health Act. The CSA acted quickly, effectively using litigation as a tool to reverse these short-sighted cuts to coverage. There are also some important upgrades in this edition, including for Saskatchewan, which earned an upgrade in the area of access to prescriptionmedication for enhancing their provincial drug program, which now allows residents to receive up to seven months of prescriptionmedication for travel purposes. Another province which received an upgrade was Alberta in the area of access to government information, as both the Ministry of Health and Elections Alberta have improved the layout and quality of content on their respective websites. Further, Yukon received an upgrade in the area of access to voting rights by passing fixed-date election legislation, which now makes Nova Scotia the only jurisdiction in Canada without fixed dates for their general elections. We commend all of the provincial and territorial governments which have worked to make improvements for their residents in the area of travel-health policy. There is still much work to be done and the CSA remains steadfast in our dedication to advocate on behalf of our members and improve these policies across Canada. The full version of the latest edition of the Canadian Travellers’ Report Card can be accessed on our website, www.snowbirds.org. Our website also contains additional informational brochures, up-to-date news releases and member advisories, as well as detailed information related to our member benefit programs. This is an excellent resource which all CSA members should bookmark, as it is continuously updated by our staff. On behalf of Judy andmyself, please stay safe. CSANews | SPRING 2021 | 11
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