After Two Years, Border Restrictions are Lifted in Canada
Ben Nelms/CBC
All COVID-19 border restrictions were lifted on Oct. 1, after the federal government announced on Sept. 26 that the order in council for the border restrictions would expire on Sept. 30.
An order in council is a notice of an administrative decision made by the federal cabinet, signed by the Governor in Council (Governor General), according to Queen’s University Library.
Some restrictions lifted included the need to provide proof of vaccination, undergo COVID tests before and after traveling, and the requirement to quarantine due to COVID-19. Wearing masks on planes or trains are also not required anymore, and nor is going through health checks while traveling.
Although these restrictions are no longer required, it is still highly suggested to still follow them. Canada’s Deputy Chief of Public Health, Dr. Howard Njoo, stated in the COVID-19 update on Parliament Hill on Sept. 26 that “We need to be mindful of our vulnerabilities since we know that immune protection decreases over time.”
“Protecting our health starts with keeping up with all of our recommended vaccines up to date and adding layers of personal protection including hand washing, wearing masks in poorly ventilated indoor or crowded settings, and staying home if you have symptoms to prevent spreading infection to others,” he added.
Jean Yves-Duclos, Canada’s Minister of Health, also expanded on this warning saying that, “Immunity is like a phone battery. After some time it needs to be recharged.”
The ArriveCAN app or website, which was created by the government to submit health documents before arriving in Canada, is no longer legally required. However, as stated on the official Government of Canada website, “[travellers] can continue to use the optional Advance Declaration feature in ArriveCAN (free as a mobile app or on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) website) to save time at the airport by submitting their customs and immigration declaration in advance of arrival.”
The border restrictions were first implemented around March 2020, as a way to curb the number of COVID-19 cases in Canada.
This worked, as Minister Yves- Duclos explained at the governmental COVID briefing on Sept. 26th, “The modeling recently published by P hack suggests that without Public Health Measures or vaccination Canada could have seen up to 2 million hospitalizations and 800,000 deaths since the start of COVID-19. That contrasts sharply to the much lower 150,000 hospitalizations and 40,000 deaths we have seen so far.”