Madam Speaker, the measures implemented by this government starting on February 22 are helping to curb discretionary and vacation travel during a period when a very significant number of Canadians traditionally travel to sun destinations, as the hon. member herself mentioned, for example in weeks such as March break. The decision to impose these measures was not taken lightly. We understand the impact on Canadian travellers and the Canadian industry.
However, despite promising news regarding vaccines for COVID-19, it is critical to remember that we remain in the midst of a pandemic, that new variants of the virus are circulating, and that our primary responsibility is to protect the health and safety of Canadians. It would have been irresponsible for us to treat this as a normal winter travel season and hope for the best. I can report that between the first week of January of this year and the first week of March, passengers arriving into Canada were down very significantly, with the most pronounced decrease in arrivals coming from traditional sun destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, where the decrease stood at around 90%.
I do not suggest this is cause for celebration, nor do I wish to give the impression that air travel is bad or unsafe. On the contrary: through a multilayered approach, the government and industry have worked hard to put in place a number of measures to ensure that air travel is safe. These include the wearing of masks, health and temperature checks, additional sanitization measures in airports and onboard aircraft for all flights, and the need to show negative COVID-19 tests within 72 hours of getting on board an international flight to Canada. International air travel to and from Canada can still take place, and we recognize that not all travel is discretionary.
Furthermore, the measures this government has imposed do not stop Canadians from travelling for discretionary purposes. I recognize that although Canadian airlines have voluntarily suspended service to sun destinations, it is still possible to travel between Canada and those destinations on connecting flights via the United States, for example. I will repeat that the number of passengers choosing to travel to sun destinations is very small, and they will be subject to the testing and quarantine measures that we have imposed on their return.
In summary, this government is continuing to do what is necessary to protect the health and well-being of Canadians.