Canada’s COVID-19 test requirement for travellers unnecessary, says business council

The Business Council of Canada (BCC) says the requirement for travellers to provide a recent negative COVID-19 test upon entry to the country is an unnecessary obstacle to kickstarting travel and tourism.

This comes before the U.S. is set to reopen its border to fully vaccinated travellers starting Monday, with no similar measures required for entry south of the line if people are entering the country by land.

BCC President Goldy Hyder says proof of vaccination is all that should be needed.

“We have to have a new approach to the way we manage risk and we see risk, and I think Canadians should be rewarded with their compliance on the vaccine,” he said.

“At some point, it’s a competitive disadvantage to Canada and to North America to have rules that are inconsistent with where most of the world is moving to.”

Business groups argue the continued testing requirement is too cumbersome for Canadian business travellers, and too expensive for families who want a vacation or reunion with loved ones.

On Friday, Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said officials were looking into the matter.

“All of these border policies are being actively looked at, at the moment, and one of the key ones is what testing measures should be in place for people taking shorter trips,” she said.

“We will be examining epidemiologic factors between Canada and the United States. At the moment, the U.S. still has higher rates, and … we’re just coming down on the fourth wave, which is great, really happy to provide those optimistic projections, but things could shift pretty quickly in the winter months.”

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While she hinted changes could be coming, they are not expected before the border reopening on Monday.

In modelling released Friday, Tam said Canada was successfully bending the curve of the fourth wave of the pandemic, but noted progress has been slowing, warning that we could face new challenges in the months ahead.

“Many areas of the country haven’t seen much COVID activity, so I think that the level of immunity in some populations of Canada can be low,” Canada’s top doctor said, noting regional differences in vaccine coverage could also create surges in months to come, even if the upswings could be less dramatic and wide-spread than during previous waves.

To avoid quarantining, the testing policy requires travellers entering Canada to show proof of a negative molecular COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arriving in the country, regardless of vaccination status.