(Washington) Canada still cannot afford to take the risk on Kovid – 19, Deputy Prime Minister Christiaan Freeland said on Thursday – and that travelers are required to submit a negative screening test result before entering the country.
Christiaan Freeland attended multilateral meetings with his fellow G7 and G20 finance ministers as well as World Bank and International Monetary Fund officials in Washington this week.
His visit coincided with an administrative announcement by United States President Joe Biden that fully vaccinated Canadian travelers would be allowed to cross the border again early next month.
Biden Administration rules do not show a negative COVID-19 test – unlike Canada, which earlier this year made its advanced $ 200 test of its strategy a pillar to ease its own border restrictions.
Critics of the sanctions say it is an important and unnecessary hurdle for Canadians to undergo expensive testing every time they return from a visit to the United States.
However, despite the data that the latest Kovid-19 wave is declining, the benefits of the need for a test by Minister Freeland outweigh the risks of leaving it.
Speaking at a press conference at the Canadian embassy on Thursday, she said, “My tests to go home this afternoon are over.
“When it comes to ending the fight against COVID, the Canadian approach – following science, following the recommendations of public health officials, failing to be careful – has really worked very well for us.”
Canada has spent over $ 280 billion to support businesses and raise revenues, not to mention the personal sacrifices and tragedies that Canadians have experienced over the past 19 months.
“My priority is to end the fight against COVID, to reopen our economy, to allow our children to go to school. And yes, that means we must continue to be careful.”
The joy that followed the news on Tuesday that the United States would ease its land border restrictions has led to demands from business groups, tourism associations and the general public that they should reconsider the Ottawa l ‘test requirement.
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that $ 1.5 billion in travel service exports – the domestic cost of foreign visitors – to U.S. companies will be spent each month on Mexican and Canadian border closures.
Minister Freeland does not rule out the possibility of lifting the limit in the future, if such action is blessed by the public health authorities.
“I don’t make predictions about the future,” she says.
The federal government has tried to be “thoughtful” and “flexible” in its efforts to curb the spread of the virus and is in consultation with health professionals in the face of rapidly changing epidemics, Christiana Freeland added.
But “rules are rules,” and Canadians should be expected to follow them, “said Minister Freeland.
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