(Ottawa) Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said he had asked border officials to allow travelers to provide their travel information at the border if they forgot or could not use the government application ArriveCAN.
Until now, anyone wishing to arrive in Canada had to enter their travel details in the application under penalty of being denied boarding if the person travels by plane or train, or of submitting to a quarantine of two weeks upon arrival.
The app collects information about where the traveler has been, the purpose of their trip, contact details, vaccination information, pre-trip COVID-19 test results and their quarantine plan an times in Canada.
Conservative public safety spokeswoman Raquel Dancho said MPs had received hundreds of complaints about the policy, including that the app was inaccessible and unreliable.
Minister Mendicino says the government will never hesitate to put measures in place to protect Canadians at the border, especially in light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant.
He says he asked the Canada Border Services Agency to give travelers the option to give their information in person instead.