A few days before the holiday break, many Quebecers are getting ready to pack their bags to take the plane and make the getaway they have dreamed of for a long time.
Good for them. Unlike last year, non-essential travel is no longer advised against by the federal government for most destinations. Learning to live with COVID-19 also means learning to move again. And the tourism industry really needs customers.
But advice to those who are already throwing their swimsuits in their bag singing “very softly, I want to travel” (Marjo, Wild cats, 1987). It could be that things are not going smoothly, precisely.
With the appearance of the Omicron variant, Ottawa added new controls to those already in place. For travelers, this means an increased risk of experiencing queues. Get tested when they arrive in Canada. To have to isolate oneself while waiting for the result.
These measures are in addition to those that other countries have or could impose. The situation is changing and travelers should know they are stepping into the unknown.
It cannot be taken as a surprise.
The federal government had warned us: traveling during a pandemic is to run the risk that the rules will change without notice.
With some exceptions (we will come back to this later), we cannot therefore hold Ottawa responsible for the inconvenience suffered by travelers. Rather, the question is whether the federal government is doing enough to protect us from Omicron.
We know that border management has been the Trudeau government’s weak point since the start of the pandemic. The Auditor General just reiterated this in a report that shows the shortcomings were even more serious than previously thought – such as failing to notify travelers who tested positive.
This time, the federal government gave the impression that it reacted in time. On November 30, he announced that he would test all international travelers except those arriving from the United States.
The catch is that progress is slow. To fulfill its promise, the federal government must test 23,000 travelers per day. He was already testing 11,000 before the announcement. Ten days later the figure had risen to … 17,000. A modest increase. And Ottawa refuses to say when it will reach its goal.
That being said, we must not dramatize. Canada has three layers of protection against Omicron. We only accept travelers who have been properly vaccinated. They must present a negative test before their departure. And random tests are carried out on arrival. It is this last rampart that we are trying to strengthen. It is done with difficulty and it is imperfect. But there are still the other two.
The American exception? It is complicated. The border is already a strainer given the trade between the two countries. Testing everyone would be a colossal task. Fortunately, community transmission of the Omicron variant has been minimal in the United States.
It is also good to take a step back and understand what we are trying to do here. It is illusory to think that Canada will be spared by the Omicron variant. This one is already with us. And if it’s as contagious as you think, it will inevitably supplant the Delta variant.
Border controls are in fact meant to save time. By limiting multiple introductions of the variant, we reduce the number of matches we throw among the population. This reduces the number of blazes. And delay the time when community transmission spreads on a large scale.
Meanwhile, scientists are accumulating knowledge about Omicron. We document its contagiousness, its virulence, its ability to elude our vaccines. When it spreads among us, we will know better how to react.
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While most of the inconvenience imposed on travelers by Ottawa is legitimate, there is one exception: the aberrant rule that requires Canadians returning from one of the 10 African countries * where Omicron travels a lot to be tested during their trip. stopover. In this case, Ottawa is sinking into the absurd and the unfair.
Someone traveling from Lagos to Montreal via London, for example, must first pass a test in Lagos before boarding the plane. Then arrange to be tested in London, you don’t really know how, without missing your connection.
Upon arrival, this traveler (otherwise vaccinated) is automatically tested and placed in isolation pending the result.
What is the London Intermediate Test for if there is a test in Montreal? Mystery. Ottawa mentions a “deterrent effect”. Except that a public health measure should never be deliberately designed to annoy people. It must have an intrinsic logic and be justified by public health objectives.
Ottawa is making some progress on border management. But there is still a long way to go.
* The countries concerned are: Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.