Date of publication: June 11, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 138 comments Travelers are waiting in line at Terminal 1 of Toronto Pearson Airport. Photo by Peter J. Thompson / National Post
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Ask a Canadian political observer what the question period is for – as a beginner might do, confused by the monkeys’ behavior and the complete lack of answers – and you will hear that it really is a way of upsetting politicians on the disc. and passionate about the topics of the day, for the evening news bulletins.
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Some days they hold water. Some days, not so much. Thursday, for example. “Mr. President, the EU and the US have abandoned their vaccines, while Canadian travelers still have to provide proof of vaccination, wear masks and undergo random tests,” said Calgary, a Member of the House of Commons. , Stephanie Kusie. “Canadians want to travel again, but the delays created by these unnecessary restrictions have become so widespread that Air Canada was forced to cancel 360 flights a week at Toronto Pearson Airport. “When,” Kusie asked, “will the government finally focus on economic recovery and lift these outdated, punitive travel orders?” As the questions of the question period progressed, it was relatively substantial, unpredictable and well made. There is no doubt about the chaos plaguing Toronto Pearson Airport these days, and while this is not unique in the world – the situation in Britain seems to be much worse and crippling more airports – the extra work they have to deal with Canadian border guards today are.
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Endless queues and canceled flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and other British airports are almost entirely due to staff shortages. Here, the entire airline and airport industry, as well as Canada Border Services, agree that Canadian travel orders are running out of tools: What took 30 to 60 seconds now takes two to three minutes. These delays add up and permeate the system. I would be lying if I said I understood why these rules must be such a waste of time. The ArriveCAN app shows in the blink of an eye whether your vaccination certificate has been accepted or not. If Border Guards spend precious minutes informing foreign tourists about local public health rules, such as what to do if they test positive, this must be questioned: I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and do not even know what the rules say. of my various governments today. Whatever they say, obviously not imposed.
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As for this random test on arrival, which was defended on Friday by the Director of Public Health Dr. Theresa Tam as a way of detecting new variations, there is no reason to delay even for a second anyone who has not been selected for it. But in any case, the problem exists. The federal government admits it. “Only three percent of all passengers at Pearson and Vancouver International Airport are now waiting in line for more than 30 minutes,” Transport Canada said in a press release this week, which may be true but it is transparent. statistically misleading: Why combine Vancouver, which has escaped this relatively unscathed problem, with Pearson, which is Chaos Central, other than downplaying the chaos?)
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Surely by now we have all understood that we are not going to stop COVID at the border. And the use of commands as a push to vaccinate people, something that was defensible in my view, was definitely over: The daily second dose was a national average of just under 500,000 last June. As of Thursday, the number was just 1,100. “Punitive”, the word used by Kusie, seems very appropriate – and not just for travelers, but for a struggling industry. I might have already booked a flight to London this summer if it weren’t for the horror stories in the British press with people saying no more than three hours before their flights, only to find five-hour queues on arrival . No thanks. Others may well think the same of Toronto – and Canada in general.
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Adam van Koeverden, parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, stood up to answer Kusie’s questions. Or maybe not. “Sir. Speaker, let me start by thanking the health workers who have sacrificed so much over the last two years,” he said. “Vaccines remain an important tool in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.” At no point before he smiled, adjusting his bow tie and sitting with a distinct air of triumph, did he come to answer the question. Clips for the nightly news and non-partisan Canadians wandering lust are likely to see a government that simply ignores their concerns. Indeed, there are reports that a huge number of Liberal MPs are tired of this situation and would prefer to see Ottawa give in to these restrictions, like most of our peers. This government is so foolish that it is easy to imagine that the main reason the party leadership does not want to back down is that they do not want to see them agree with these original Conservatives.
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Fortunately, as an alternative, they can turn on their heels just before a summer weekend. The news broke on Friday afternoon that federal authorities would temporarily “suspend” random tests on arrival – which Tam soberly defended as necessary that morning – until he could be relocated away from home. It is a straightforward admission that their critics are right: liberal policies are blocking Canada’s largest airport for a non-essential reason. Such is the glorious life of a Liberal: You can make as big a scene as you want by defending the defenseless until the very moment you change your mind and never have to answer for it. Why people would vote for a party with such a bloody and terrible attitude towards hoi polloi in Canada is a question that scientists and public health officials have not yet been able to answer.
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