Trudeau Is Facing Backlash Over Canada's 'Unnecessary' Travel Rules & 'Blanket' Advisories
"It's time we apply an updated approach to our thinking."
The federal government is being asked to revisit Canada's travel rules and restrictions and Justin Trudeau in particular is being called out.
In an open letter from the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable on Monday, February 14, the group asked the PM to join the ranks of "forward-thinking" nations regarding rules for those who are fully vaccinated.
"From Denmark and the United Kingdom to Switzerland, Ireland and Norway, many forward-thinking countries worldwide have recognized that the time has come to remove COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers," the letter said.
The group went on to claim that since the beginning of the pandemic, only 1% of all cases of COVID-19 in the country have been related to travel.
The roundtable is made up of industry giants from all over Canada's travel and tourism sector, including the likes of WestJet, Air Canada, Toronto Pearson Airport and many more.
They're calling on the government to "lay out a plan with a clear timeline for removing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers and their children, including removing unnecessary pre-departure and on-arrival testing and isolation requirements and blanket travel advisories."
They also noted that COVID-19 policies should be based on science, but suggest that there is no real "logical reason" that travel should be the only activity that faces restrictions around testing and isolation.
"As a country we have learned a lot over the last two years and it's time we apply an updated approach to our thinking to quickly and safely transition out of this most recent phase of the pandemic," they wrote.
"It's time for the federal government to begin encouraging Canadians to travel and to invite the world to once again explore what our great country has to offer."
It's the second time in less than a week that the roundtable has called for action, after a bunch of airlines, airports, travel companies and some doctors called Canada's travel restrictions "obsolete" and "out of step."
Announcing that they were scrapping flights for the third consecutive month, WestJet also slammed the current measures by calling them "stagnant."
On Friday, February 11, CBC and CTV News reported that the federal government may have plans to eliminate pre-arrival PCR testing for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers, although no official announcements have been made.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
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