Government Approved Accommodations (GAA) and the Land Border
Date: June 4, 2021
Classification: unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch/Agency: SPB/CBSA
Issue:
Recent media coverage regarding the request by the Premiers to extend the quarantine measures at Canada’s international airports to the land border with the United States.
Proposed Response:
- In response to COVID 19, Canada has established some of the strictest border measures in the world, including prohibitions on entry for discretionary purposes for foreign nationals.
- As well, all international travellers, with limited exceptions, must undergo molecular testing pre- and post-arrival, and must have a suitable quarantine plan for the mandatory 14-day period.
- The large majority (90%) of the travel at the land border is for essential reasons. We must ensure the flow of essential goods across the border, including food and medical supplies for all Canadians.
- The Government of Canada is committed to working with provinces and territories to do what is necessary to ensure the safety of Canadians, based on the best medical science available.
- There are logistical differences associated with our different ports of entry and different modes of travel.
- The use of government approved accommodations in land mode would be extremely complex and in some cases, unattainable given the vast geography of the land border. Further, in some areas, there is limited hotel infrastructure in the proximity of the border to allow for compliance.
- The Government of Canada would like to remind all travellers that this is not the time for discretionary or optional travel.
If pressed on measures to align measures at land and air POEs:
- Air and land modes are two very different operational environments.
- Air travellers arrive at four international airports while there are 117 different land points of entry.
- The majority of individuals crossing at the land ports of entry are essential service providers (i.e. truck drivers and nurses, technicians, people that have to cross that border each and every day).
If pressed on measures to mitigate the spread of the virus at the border:
- As of February 15, 2021, travellers arriving by land, with limited exceptions, must present evidence of a COVID-19 molecular test taken with 72 hours in the U.S. before arriving at the port of entry.
- As of February 22, all travellers must submit mandatory health information digitally, to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) using the ArriveCAN application before boarding a plane to Canada or before arriving at a land port of entry. This includes contact information and a suitable quarantine plan, as applicable.
- All international travellers, with limited exceptions, arriving in Canada must undergo a COVID-19 molecular testing pre- and post-arrival and must have a suitable quarantine plan for the mandatory 14-day period, which starts on the date they arrive.
- As of March 4, 2021, 16 land ports of entry offer onsite testing to test travellers on arrival.
- Travellers at ports of entry without onsite testing are provided with swab kits and real-time, online guidance to self-administer the first test in their quarantine location on the first day, and a second test towards the end of their quarantine period.
Background:
On February 22, 2021, the Government of Canada implemented enhanced quarantine measures at airports requiring all air travellers returning from non-essential trips abroad to reserve a stay in a Government Authorized Accommodation (GAA) for up to 72 hours while they await the results of a polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) test. Due to significant differences in processing and geography at the air and land borders, the Government of Canada has not adopted the GAA measure for travellers entering Canada at the land border. At this time, international land travellers are required to quarantine for 14 days at a suitable place (e.g., the individual’s home).
Recently, media attention has been directed at the lack of harmonization between air and land GAA requirements. Specifically, instances of travellers that departed Canada by air and who return at the land border to avoid the expense and inconvenience of the GAA. These individuals travel to nearby US airports and drive, walk or take a taxi/limousine across the border.
All CBSA regions are reporting varying levels of the prevalence of this issue. Quebec and Southern Ontario reported the highest impacts, though Pacific Region has also highlighted an emerging trend that some travellers are using land crossings as a way to circumvent GAA requirements. Some common themes include: travelling to sun destinations and returning home via US airports, subsequently taking taxis or walking across the border; travelling from the US in their own or borrowed vehicles after having flown there (e.g., snowbirds); and an increasing number of taxi and other services which overtly advertise this type of travel by Canadians.
In response to the media attention and a surging volume of domestic COVID-19 cases throughout April 2021, the Ontario provincial government has requested that the GAA measure in place at Canada's airports to be extended to the land border with the United States. Specifically, the Ontario government is requesting the implementation of a three-day GAA stay in federally designated hotels at the highest traffic crossings including those in Niagara, Windsor, Sarnia, and Brockville. Premiers of Canada’s remaining provinces have expressed their support for the request made by the Government of Ontario. To date, the Government of Canada has not received a formal request from the Government of Ontario in relation to government approved accommodations.
Contact:
Prepared by: Godfrey Tang, 613 222 3318
Approved by: Julia Aceti, A/Vice-President, Strategic Policy Branch, 613-941-4937
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