Mr. Speaker, the cost to obtain a predeparture test is the responsibility of the traveller, while the cost of arrival testing has been covered by the Government of Canada. It is recognized that the cost of a predeparture test can be prohibitive for some individual travellers; however, this requirement is in place to protect Canada’s health care system and Canada’s most vulnerable populations.
The objective of Canada’s COVID 19 border measures has been to protect all Canadians, and border measures have applied to all travellers to Canada, unless explicitly exempt. While border measures authorized by emergency orders issued under section 58 of the Quarantine Act are not subject to the section 5.2.3 of the cabinet directive on regulation, which requires a gender-based analysis plus, GBA+, PHAC nevertheless considered a number of identity factors in its assessment of border measures, including age, language, socio-economic status and digital literacy. Where actual or potential disparate impacts on vulnerable groups were identified, and to the extent feasible given public health objectives, corresponding mitigations were put in place.
Effective April 1, 2022, fully vaccinated travellers, arriving at land, air or marine ports of entry will no longer be required to complete a pre-entry test for entry to Canada. For partially or unvaccinated travellers, who are currently allowed to travel to Canada, pre-entry testing requirements are not changing.
This adjustment to Canada’s border measures is made possible by a number of factors, including Canada’s high vaccination rate, the increasing availability and use of rapid tests to detect infection, decreasing hospitalizations and growing domestic availability of treatments for COVID-19.