Posted at 12:00 a.m.
Travelers are being bombarded with misguided advice telling them to self-isolate upon their return. The Canada Border Services Agency acknowledges the failures, but assures that a limited number of people are affected.
A computer problem with the application ArriveCAN caused confusion among fully vaccinated travelers who were receiving quarantine notifications on pain of worrying penalties.
PHOTO GIORDANO CIAMPINI, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The app ArriveCAN
Since returning from Barbados on July 16, Christiane Allaire has been receiving isolation alerts from the government. She also receives emails asking her to send a COVID-19 test result to the 8e day of his quarantine. Notifications are sent daily to track symptom status.
Fines amounting to thousands of dollars can be imposed if the isolation is not respected, she testifies to The Press.
Vaccinated three times against COVID-19, Christiane Allaire does not meet the isolation criteria of the Government of Canada, which obliges symptomatic Canadian travelers, having received less than two doses of vaccine or a positive test for COVID-19, requiring her to respect quarantine.
“We don’t want to have a penalty,” says Christiane Allaire, who sticks to teleworking.
Without answer
The same scenario happened for Frédérique Verville, back from the United States since July 14. After crossing the Canadian border, she received emails from the government telling her to self-isolate for 14 days or face jail and fines of up to $750,000, she tells The Press. However, at customs, she had been authorized to return to Canada without isolation, she adds.
Worried about being subject to sanctions, she tried many times to contact the authorities. Without answer. She resumed her daily activities after confirming with her provincial deputy, Donald Martel, that it was a mistake, underlines Frédérique Verville.
Both travelers shared their concerns on social media. Their publication sparked a lot of comments: they are not the only ones.
A computer issue was reported earlier this week regarding the app ArriveCAN, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed to us by email. Service Canada does not know how long the bug has been around. Some 3% of users received “automatic notifications” of quarantine in error, the CBSA says.
For example, more than 1 million travelers entered Canada in the week of July 4-10, according to the latest CBSA data. Thus, tens of thousands of people could have received the erroneous notices ofArriveCAN.
A technical solution was implemented on Wednesday evening. Travelers should still “answer phone calls and follow government recommendations,” says the CBSA. To avoid receiving these false alerts, travelers are advised to use the latest version of the app.
Passports: delays still “far from acceptable”
Passport crisis easing in Canada, although wait times are “far from acceptable”, says Employment and Social Development Canada at The Press.
A queue stretched Thursday morning in front of the passport office of the Guy-Favreau complex in Montreal. It was necessary to expect more than four hours of waiting in the metropolitan region of Montreal Thursday noon, according to the estimate of Service Canada.
Sandra Blouin, first in line with her daughter, arrived at 5 a.m. in front of the passport office on René-Lévesque Boulevard. They were to leave the country the same day for the United States. “It’s very well organized,” she told The Press before entering the Guy-Favreau complex. Travelers are classified according to their departure date: priority to those who travel within the next 48 hours, and then to those who leave the country within the next 10 days.
The situation is more difficult for online applications, and delays by mail are still long. The next available appointments are in mid-September for those traveling within the next 45 working days. There are no appointments available for longer term trips.
Abdulleh Ahsan was in line Thursday morning at the Guy-Favreau complex. He was still awaiting a response to his request submitted in April. Same scenario for Agathe Chamussy, 17, who cannot get her passport two months after applying for it.
To expedite the processing of applications, Service Canada Center employees are working overtime. Some even work on weekends, says Employment and Social Development Canada.
“The passport services situation has not yet returned to normal, but we continue to see improvements,” Karina Gould, federal minister of families, children and social development, said in a statement Tuesday.
In the week of July 4, 54,312 passports were issued, compared to 44,636 the previous week, she pointed out.