The Conservatives tabled a motion on Thursday to end COVID-19 regulations at airports, lamenting “unacceptable” wait times for passengers due to these restrictions.
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“The Liberal government’s outdated COVID-19 protocols at airports are causing extreme delays, lineups, backlogs and missed connections,” MPs Melissa Lantsman and Luc Berthold said in a statement.
According to them, Canadians are subject to “unnecessary protocols” while the United States or the European Union have relaxed most of their rules.
They criticize in particular the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, for not having given a timetable for a possible return to normal, while the queues are getting longer at the airports, as are the waiting times to deliver passports.
In this regard, the CEO of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) had also apologized on May 2.
“CATSA is currently experiencing an increase in pent-up demand for air travel occasioned by the pandemic. This comes after two tumultuous years which resulted in a significant number of layoffs across the aviation industry, including in the security screening sector,” said Mike Saunders.
“We understand that it is frustrating for Canadians to see long lines at airports. We are trying to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, ”replied Thursday, during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Annie Koutrakis.
Some 400 people have been hired and are in training, while working groups are formed with partners in the aviation sector to try to come and meet the waiting times, said the Liberal MP.
“Canadians want to travel. There are unprecedented volumes of requests. […] We are doing our best to allow Canadians to have access to the documents they need in a timely manner,” added Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
According to the Trudeau government, the last time so many passport applications were sent was in 2006, when the United States imposed passports on Canadians.
“We are now in a period of transition,” recalled Ms. Gould.
Remember that travelers who are considered fully vaccinated are no longer required to provide a negative result for a COVID-19 screening test since April 1.
The quarantine plan has also been removed since April 25, but the ArriveCAN app is still required to enter the country.
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