Earlier this week, Transport Canada updated its plans to improve the app, including adding an optional, online CBSA advance declaration for people going to Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Billy Bishop Toronto City, Ottawa, Québec City and Halifax international airports. The feature, which Transport Canada says cuts the time travelers spend at a Canada Border Services Agency booth by a third, is currently only available to those transiting through Toronto Pearson, Vancouver or Montreal- Trudeau. “With the thousands of travelers arriving at Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal airports each day, using the optional CBSA declaration has the potential to save hours in wait time,” according to Transport Canada’s release. With Ottawa not saying it has no plans to scrap the app, here’s an update on how it works, why it works — and who’s for and against its continued use.
Why was it installed?
Although the app was introduced earlier in the pandemic, the version of ArriveCAN that people are familiar with was launched today in July 2021, when Canada began relaxing public health restrictions on people coming to Canada. Fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents crossing the border were no longer required to quarantine upon their return. But Canada still wanted a way to take into account people’s vaccination status and COVID-19 results from a recent test. The app allowed travelers to take a photo or upload a snapshot of their vaccine documentation to the app before going through customs.
How does it work today?
Canada has lifted most travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers, including the need for domestic travelers to show proof of vaccination while traveling by train or plane. However, regardless of vaccination status, all travelers coming to Canada must submit their information on the ArriveCAN app — or the website version if they don’t have a smartphone — up to 72 hours before entering Canada. When travelers complete entering their information, they are emailed a receipt to show a Canadian border officer upon arrival, along with their COVID-19 test results and any vaccination documentation. The implementation was not without problems. Last month, Public Safety Canada acknowledged that a bug incorrectly notified some travelers of a quarantine when it didn’t actually need to.
What are the possible penalties for non-compliance?
Travelers who fail to provide the required information will not be denied entry, but may face a 14-day quarantine, the need to take a COVID-19 test on arrival and a follow-up test eight days later. They can also be fined $5,000 and face “additional delays at the border for public health questions,” according to Canada’s main ArriveCAN information page.
Anyone opting out of using ArriveCAN?
Yes, including people who cannot access the app or website due to cognitive or physical disabilities. Instead, they can provide the information verbally at the border or by filling out a paper form. The exception also applies to people who are unable to complete the information online due to natural disaster, censorship, lack of internet access or ArriveCAN downtime. There is also some leeway for some people at the land border. As of May 24, “for more flexibility,” Canada Border Services Agency began letting fully vaccinated Canadian land travelers with a warning the first time they neglect to complete the application if they had no previous history of non-compliance. The union representing border workers told CBC News last month that between 30 and 40 per cent of travelers entering Canada in Windsor, Ont., did not complete the application before arriving.
Who is against?
Mayors of border towns have said the implementation is a barrier to tourists wanting to enter Canada and to trade. Other politicians — including Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates Jean Charest, Pierre Poilievre, Leslyn Lewis and Scott Aitchison — have called for the app to be withdrawn, saying it creates headaches for some travelers and contributes to airport delays. In a tweet last month, Poilievre called on Canada to “stop forcing ArriveCAN on people” and “restore sanity to our airports.” The tweet included video, which CBC News has not verified, of an elderly man without a cellphone calling the app “red tape gone mad” while at a Toronto airport. That’s how stupid things have gotten with this Liberal government. Rules for the sake of rules. Rules that don’t make sense. Rules that make people upset and angry. Stop forcing ArriveCan on people. Restore sanity to our airports. https://t.co/hUepm7fhJC —@PierrePoilievre Lewis recently called the app a “surveillance experiment” that needs to end. This terrible experiment with tracking the ArriveCan app must end. The government cannot continue to infringe on the rights and freedoms of Canadians. https://t.co/5rcDHOtzHi —@LeslynLewis
Who wants the app to stay?
MP Taylor Bachrach, the New Democrats’ transportation critic, said ArriveCAN continues to play an “important role” in helping to screen international arrivals for new variants and to verify that visitors to Canada are fully vaccinated to protect the health system. care of the country. “But the government needs to make the app work as intended so it can reduce waiting times at airports and border crossings as promised,” Bachrach said in a statement. The government also needs to better deal with people who cannot use the online application for accessibility reasons, he added. “It is completely inappropriate for customs agents to act as IT technicians as they deal with travelers’ technology challenges,” he said. Green Party MP Elizabeth May said she found the app useful and easy to use during her travels. “The recent bug, on the other hand, demonstrates a serious problem when it comes to privacy violations,” it said in a statement.
What does the government have to say about this?
In its release earlier this week, Transport Canada said 1,600 security screening officers with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority have been hired across Canada since April, while 30 new customs inspection booths were recently added at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. In its statement to CBC News, the CBSA said 99.53 percent of air travelers used ArrivedCAN in the week ending July 17, according to the most recent data available. Millions of people have used the app without a problem, the spokesperson added. “Without ArriveCAN, processing times for travelers would increase significantly, as these public health functions would have to be completed manually for each traveler by CBSA officers at the port of entry.”
