President’s Message Garry McDonald CSA President In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that they would be changing the regulations governing the importation of dogs to the United States, including pet dogs visiting temporarily from Canada. Prior to this announcement, the CDC only required that pet dogs from Canada appeared healthy and be vaccinated against rabies. The proposed changes from the CDC would require pet dogs from Canada to be at least six months of age, be microchipped and be accompanied by two forms: a CDC Dog Import Form receipt and a secondary form verifying their rabies vaccination to be administered by a licensed veterinarian in Canada. Both Canadian travellers visiting the United States temporarily, as well as American citizens returning home to the United States with their pet dogs would have been subject to these new regulations. These proposed requirements would pose an unnecessary burden on both Canadian and American travellers. They would also hinder cross-border travel and impact tourism in both countries, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers would require additional time to verify the onerous paperwork required for entry. Further, these changes would complicate air travel, as many airlines remain unclear regarding how to implement these regulation changes. Upon hearing of these changes, the CSA reached out to both the CDC and the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, urging them to reverse course on these proposed regulation changes given the unnecessary burden which they would place on both Canadian and American travellers crossing the border. Further, the CSA also highlighted that the proposed requirements for pet dogs coming from high-risk and low-risk countries would be almost identical. This made little sense, since both Canada and the United States are free of dog rabies and share the same public health goal to prevent rabies. In late July, prior to the effective date of the new changes coming into effect, the CDC announced that they would be simplifying the requirements for pet dogs entering the United States from low-risk countries – including Canada – making them more travel-friendly. As of August 1, 2024, the new regulation changes require pet dogs from Canada to appear healthy upon arrival, be at least six months old, have a microchip that can be detected with a universal scanner and be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. The CDC withdrew their requirement for a secondary form and also simplified the CDC Dog Import Form for Canadians and other low-risk travellers. The CDC Dog Import Form and further information can be accessed from the CDC website here, www.cdc.gov/importation/dogs/ rabies-free-low-risk-countries.html. I would like to thank the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, and the leadership at the CDC for being responsive to our requests to make these policies more travel-friendly for CSA members and other travellers on both sides of the border. CSA staff are busy assembling the 10th edition of the Canadian Travellers’ Report Card. This is a national evaluation of federal, provincial and territorial government policies and regulations of importance to travelling Canadians. Our approach is to research these policies and practices and then share the information with each government so that they have an opportunity to review our work and comment before we publish our research. After receiving feedback from government officials across Canada, we retain an independent consultant to evaluate our findings and assign a grade to each category. The final report is then made available to our members on our website and sent to governments throughout Canada. It is a critical tool when we sit down with our elected officials. Look for its release at Snowbird Extravaganza in January of 2025. This year, our Fall Lifestyle Presentations will visit Ontario; our tour will begin on September 10 in Parry Sound. We will also be making stops in Owen Sound, Port Hope, Nepean, Belleville, Markham, Chatham-Kent and St. Catharines. As always, admission is free to all of the shows. Along with the great entertainment, they are also an excellent source of information for both veteran and new snowbirds alike, so please feel free to bring your friends. Specific dates and times are available by clicking on the Events tab on our website at www.snowbirds.org. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you at one of our many shows during the fall and winter months. Safe travels. 10 | www.snowbirds.org
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