President’s Message Karen Huestis CSA President OnMay 25, 2021, I wrote to the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, requesting that the Public Health Agency of Canada revise its guidance on quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated Canadian residents returning to Canada from the United States, on the basis that these individuals do not pose a risk of significant harm to public health. Currently, quarantine requirements are applied equally to both those who are unvaccinated and those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As numerous outbreaks of COVID-19 continue to plague the hotel quarantine system, we requested an exemption for fully vaccinated Canadian residents inoculated in the United States (or Canada) re-entering Canada by air. Treating vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers in the same manner is not only counterproductive, it is not informed by the latest science. On June 9, 2021, the federal government announced that fully vaccinated Canadians will be able to travel outside of Canada without having to stay in a quarantine hotel upon arrival starting as early as July. We thank the federal government for making this long overdue adjustment. Although fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer be subject to hotel quarantine, they will still be required to quarantine in their homes until their arrival test for COVID-19 returns negative. The federal government’s own hand-picked panel of scientific experts has called on the government to end the hotel quarantine program entirely and to exempt fully vaccinated travellers from all further quarantine measures. We urge the government to take the advice of their own medical experts. With the world beginning to reopen − at least to fully vaccinated travellers − the question now becomes how will one’s vaccination status be confirmed for international travel and, frankly, who knows what else? Reports suggest that Ottawa is actively engaged in discussions with other countries and the provinces regarding just what a “vaccine passport” would look like, but it does not sound as if this is an issue that will be resolved by July. What will the interim measures look like? Early reports suggest that the interim arrangement will closely mirror the current system in place to confirm COVID-19 testing prior to boarding a plane. One would presumably upload the proof of vaccinated status (which they would have obtained when vaccinated) to the ArriveCAN software application prior to departure. In terms of a more permanent solution, current discussions appear to be focused on the development of both vaccine passports and vaccine certifications. The vaccine passport, issued by the federal government, would contain certified proof of COVID-19 vaccination and would allow Canadians to travel internationally and be admitted to participating countries which, again from early reports, appear to be the overwhelming majority. Vaccine certification documents could be issued by provincial governments and would presumably be used to permit Canadians to engage in a wide range of domestic activities, such as attending large gatherings including sporting events or, perhaps, something as simple as indoor dining. I suspect that these may prove more contentious than the vaccine passport used primarily for international travel, but current polling seems not to support that view. According to a recent Ipsos poll, 72 per cent of Canadians support vaccine passports for air travel. What some might findmore surprising is that 67 per cent support requiring proof of vaccination to attend indoor concerts, theatres and museums, as well as to attend post-secondary education. The bottom line is that there are a great many unanswered questions, but the federal and provincial governments are actively involved in these discussions and, with polling numbers like these, I have no doubt that we’ll be hearing a lot more about the implementation of some, if not all of these requirements over the summer. If you travelled to the United States during the winter and were vaccinated in the U.S., please contact your provincial/district health authorities to ensure that your vaccination status has been registered. We are aware that this is not yet possible in all jurisdictions and it remains confusing in others that are accepting your U.S.-issued vaccination receipts. We are actively engaging the provinces on this file in an effort to allow you to register your status wherever you reside in Canada. If you are experiencing difficulty in navigating this process, please do not hesitate to contact the office and we will do our best to point you in the right direction. Ron Steeves covers this topic more extensively in his government relations column elsewhere in this issue of the magazine. Have a great summer and please stay safe. 12 | www.snowbirds.org
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