Mr. Speaker, I want to inform you that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Yukon.
I rise in the House today to speak to the opposition motion and, more specifically, on Canada's current border measures. To combat the continued introduction and spread of COVID-19, the Government of Canada has taken extraordinary action and implemented a comprehensive border strategy with many layers of precautionary measures. However, as the pandemic has progressed, new risks have been identified that require Canada to take even greater measures to limit international travel and strengthen our border measures.
The reason for this action is that new, more infectious variants of the virus that cause COVID‑19 have been detected in all 10 provinces. The extent of the spread and the health impacts of these variants of concern within Canadian communities is not yet fully known. It is now more important than ever to ensure that strong measures are in place to reduce the risk of importation and community transmission of COVID‑19.
Some Canadians, and I would say some residents of my community of Orléans, have voiced concerns about the stringent border measures in place. However, the Government of Canada has been very clear. Now is not the time to travel. With the emergence of new and reportedly more transmissible variants, domestic transmission rates of COVID‑19 are expected to rise. Unfortunately, even here in our great nation's capital, we have seen the province changing our status from orange to red and the implications it has on many of our local businesses.
Also, following many conversations between the Government of Canada, the provincial ministers of health, our Minister of Health and our health experts, we know that our health care systems have limited capacity and infected travellers could burden them. We know that many travellers have and will require clinical care and can also transmit the disease in their households and communities.
Travel continues to present a clear risk of imported cases, including cases of new variants of concern, and this increases the chance of community transmission of COVID‑19 in Canada. To monitor the importation of variants of concern, and to allow our health care system to recover, these border measures are necessary to reduce immediate risks and protect Canadians. I would like to take a moment to thank all of our health care heroes in Canada, especially in Orléans.
To date, we have enacted 47 emergency orders under the Quarantine Act to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID‑19 in Canada. We have limited inbound travel from other countries, repatriated Canadians and strengthened measures at the border. We have twice made amendments to the Contraventions Regulations to include offences under the Quarantine Act, first to introduce new fines and then recently to increase these fines. I will say it again. Now is not the time to travel.
The measures we have implemented have reduced the volume of travellers arriving at Canada’s ports, airports and land borders by nearly 95%. This has shrunk the daily number of imported COVID‑19 cases, but despite this decrease in travel, with the emergence of new variants of concern, stronger measures have become necessary.
The Government of Canada introduced new emergency orders imposing stricter testing and quarantine requirements. I will remind Canadians that travellers who are entering our great nation by land or air are required to provide proof of a negative COVID test result for a test taken up to 72 hours before their arrival, or a positive result from a test taken at least 14 days, and not more than 90 days, prior to arrival. Upon arrival, they must take another COVID test. Air travellers must then also reserve and stay in a government-authorized accommodation for up to three nights while they await the results. A third test must be taken on day 10 of their mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
All travellers are required to submit their travel and contact information, including a quarantine plan, electronically using ArriveCAN before crossing the border.
It is critical to our collective safety to further reduce the risk of importation of COVID and variants of concern, both before and after travellers arrive. Pre-departure testing, combined with testing all travellers upon entry and subsequently in the quarantine period, have shown to temper this risk. Identification of positive cases and genetic sequencing of the virus will help Canada detect novel variants of concern and support public health efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Canada.
Requiring travellers entering Canada by air to stay in government-authorized accommodations until they receive their on-arrival test results will help to identify and isolate those who may be infectious before they can spread it at home and in the community. Most importantly, changes to international travel restrictions and advice are based on scientific evidence and are developed in consultation with provincial, territorial and international governments.
The Government of Canada recognizes that entry prohibitions, mandatory quarantine requirements and testing protocols place a significant burden on Canadians, including mental health implications, and on the Canadian economy. However, these measures remain the most effective means of limiting the introduction of new cases of COVID-19 into Canada. With new, more transmissible, more severe, and possibly vaccine-resistant variants of the virus in Canada, this government continues to take a precautionary approach that will preserve domestic health care capacity and save lives.
The Government of Canada continues to monitor and review the available scientific evidence to determine further border measures, including the use of testing and vaccination to protect the health and safety of Canadians. The Government of Canada remains committed to working closely with provinces and territories, industry stakeholders, indigenous partners, and health care professionals on plans related to border and travel health.
We will continue to leverage international partnerships in order to ensure that we can effectively protect the health and safety of Canadians, and Canada’s health care capacity.