Canada’s COVID-19 travel ‘rules’ remain a tragic farce

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There isn’t a day that goes by that Canadians don’t beseech some higher power to end the pandemic because they know their governments are failing them on so many fronts.

Most of us are fair-minded people who understand that battling this disease isn’t easy. Decisions that governments make have far-reaching implications. They can affect people and their jobs. We get all that. But what we can’t abide by is stupidity and stubbornness in the face of the facts.

And when it comes to this, travel restrictions invoked by Ottawa and the provinces continue to let us down.

For instance, we have consistently refused to shut down flights from international COVID-19 hotspots until after deadly variants from these countries have already arrived and spread. Even then, we didn’t stop planes from coming from some of these places. The latest example is India, the source of a horrific double mutant virus that is killing scores of people there.

The scenes of grief from places such as Delhi are heartbreaking. The country reported nearly 315,000 new cases of COVID-19 in one day this week.

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B.C.’s Health Minister Adrian Dix called news of the variant’s arrival in the province “concerning.” When I read that I nearly fell off my chair. Concerning? He suggested that perhaps federal quarantine protocols need be strengthened. These would be the same protocols that many people are simply ignoring. You know what could be strengthened, Minister? The resolve of governments in this country to do the right thing.

Flights from India should have been shut down weeks ago, not on Thursday. They have accounted for 20 per cent of air traffic volume to Canada but 50 per cent of all positive COVID-19 tests at the border, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. And yet they were permitted to keep coming. Meantime, non-direct flights from India and Pakistan to Canada will still be allowed. That’s insane.

It’s also clear by now that whatever system was put in place by governments and the airlines to ensure passengers boarding planes don’t have COVID-19 is not working. Every day, planes touch down across the country with people aboard who are sick with the disease. I don’t know if they got on those flights with phony documents saying they were virus free or if they contracted COVID-19 after they were tested (people need to get tested 72 hours prior to boarding) or if the testing being done in some of these countries is insufficient. Doesn’t matter.

The system is far from fool proof, which is why we need to be extra cautious when it comes to where planes are arriving from.

Then there is B.C.’s new “restrictions” when it comes to its neighbour, Alberta. While the virus is raging in both provinces, the B.C. government doesn’t want Albertans traveling to its province. So it has gently informed the fine people from Wild Rose Country not to come. There are even signs at the many border points between the two provinces that say: don’t come. Which is bound to scare the daylights out of any cowboy and his F-150 trying to cross into B.C., I’m sure.

B.C.’s Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said those Albertans who decide to come anyway will have to stay in the Interior of the province because of a provincial edict currently in place that restricts travel among the different health districts. You can imagine how that went over in places such as Kelowna.

Albertans who are possibly carrying COVID-19 can hang out in B.C.’s largest Interior city but don’t even attempt to go anywhere near Vancouver. Right. Gotcha.

Except there’s a workaround. There always is.

There is any number of flights, daily, that Albertans can hop on that will take them to Vancouver. On Saturday, for example, Westjet has six flights (in total) leaving Edmonton and Calgary for Vancouver and Air Canada has 15. But Minister, do make sure those blinking signs at the border telling people not to cross into B.C. have plenty of power.

This pandemic will end one day. We will once again be able to resume normal lives, although it may take all of us some time to believe it and truly feel free again. The virus has taken a toll on all of us individually and on society as a whole.

Yes, the virus will die out, and the case numbers will drop off to nothing, and death rates will flat line too. But we will be haunted by the knowledge that so much more could have been done that would have limited the damage.

If only our political leaders had the courage to do the right thing, at the right time.

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