Government Relations Report Ron Steeves First Vice-President As more provinces cautiously progress through their staged reopenings and the vaccination rates throughout Canada continue to climb, we remain hopeful that the next travel season will look markedly different from the last. This is why the CSA is calling on both the Trudeau and Biden administrations to formalize a plan to safely reopen the land border to fully vaccinated travellers for non-essential purposes. Policy decisions of this nature should be based in science, and there is no convincing scientific evidence that persons whomeet the condition of demonstrating full vaccination − at least two weeks prior to arrival in Canada or the United States − “pose a risk of significant harm to public health” or present a “risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19.” The land-border closure, which has been in place since March 2020, continues to have a devastating financial impact on cross-border communities throughout multiple sectors. While the land-border restrictions were initially implemented as a way in which to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, with increasing rates of vaccination in both countries, it is now time for these restrictions to be updated to reflect the progress being made and the most recent scientific data available. With more than 68% of Canadian adults having received at least one dose of vaccine andmore than 53%of American adults having been fully vaccinated, it is imperative that both governments develop a binational plan to permit cross-border travel for individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a Health Canada- or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-approved vaccine. Such a plan will also act as an incentive for individuals in both countries to become fully vaccinated in a timely manner. The latest scientific data from the CDC demonstrates that the chances of fully vaccinated individuals spreading COVID-19, also known as “breakthrough infecting,” are extremely low. By allowing the science to guide policy decisions, the federal government and its American counterpart need to revise the temporary border agreement and permit Canadian and American residents who can prove that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel between the two countries. While the CSA will continue to push for a safe and scientifically grounded reopening plan, progress is being made with regard to the existing border restrictions. In early June, federal government officials announced that fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents returning to Canada by air will no longer be subject to the mandatory hotel quarantine requirement effective in early July 2021. Instead, fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents will be required to provide both a pre-departure molecular COVID-19 test and an arrival test and quarantine in their homes until their arrival test results come back negative. Travellers would also have to be vaccinated 14 or more days prior to their arrival and have a suitable quarantine plan. While this measure is a good first step, we are calling on the Prime Minister and his government to adopt all of the recommendations from the COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel’s report which was released last month. This includes ending the hotel quarantine program altogether and exempting fully vaccinated travellers from all quarantine and testing requirements, other than an arrival test for surveillance purposes. A growing number of jurisdictions throughout Canada are now asking individuals who received COVID-19 vaccines abroad to register these with the provincial health authority. In British Columbia, individuals who received their COVID-19 vaccine outside of the province or country can call 1-833-838-2323 to update their vaccination status with the BC Ministry of Health. In Quebec, residents who received the COVID-19 vaccine abroad can book an appointment at a designated vaccination centre and provide their ID and proof of vaccination. Following the entry of the information in the vaccination register, an electronic proof of vaccination is issued via e-mail or text message. Ontario recently announced that Ontario residents who received one or both doses of COVID-19 vaccine outside of Ontario or Canada can contact their local Public Health Unit (PHU) to have their COVID-19 immunization record verified and documented in the province’s COVAX system. In Alberta, anyone who received a first dose or was fully vaccinated outside of Alberta can bring a copy of their records to an AHS public health clinic to have them entered into the system and counted towards the provincial total. We will be providing further updates tomembers via our electronic member advisories as more provinces and territories update their systems to allow for the registration of vaccinations received abroad. Judy and I wish you a safe and relaxing summer. CSANews | SUMMER 2021 | 13
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