Toronto's Pearson Airport
It started with news of the
identification of a new coronavirus mutation in Great Britain. Within days,
four different provinces reported finding the latest COVID variant in their
jurisdictions. It is irrefutable evidence of how poorly controlled our borders
are.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair was
on television on December 30, claiming that Canada had the most stringent
border regulations in the world. If you are going to lie, go big!
We already have a poor record of
allowing bigwigs entry on essential business when they are not critical to
keeping our society running.
Attempting to impose Canadians COVID
regulations beyond our borders is clear evidence that our government officials
have slipped a couple of cogs and gone off the deep end.
International travellers don’t have
access to quick COVID tests. Minister Blair cannot tell if tests applied out of
the country are authentic, correctly administered, or reliable. Forgers are
already busy preparing fake COVID-19 test certificates to meet demands.
International travellers need to be
quarantined on arrival at the point of entry. Our hoteliers need the business.
They can provide rooms and meals for people under quarantine, and travellers
are easily monitored when kept in the same building.
Why air travel? People arriving by
land or sea can also bring the COVID-19 virus with them. If they are not
authentic, registered essential workers, they must quarantine at the entry
point.
Allowing travellers to quarantine at
their final destination is irresponsible. We may want to quarantine at home in
familiar surroundings, but we can infect dozens between the point of entry and
our final destination.
Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips
should have been quarantined for 14 days on arrival at Toronto Pearson Airport,
not allowed to go home until it was clear that he was virus free. He chose to
disobey advice not to travel out of the country, and that decision has a price.
Those pleading for quick test kits at
airports are ignoring the unreliability and scarcity of the test kits. The kits
approved are needed in Long Term Care (LTC) facilities and workplaces where
distancing is not possible. Travellers who put themselves at risk can wait
their turn like everyone else or pay for testing. Having funds to buy an
airline ticket does not make them immune from virus regulations.
Much of the current COVID spread is
through essential workers doing their jobs. Most are on hourly wages with few
benefits, such as paid sick leave. They go to work even if not feeling well as
they cannot afford the income loss and pay for rent and groceries. The virus is
embedded in that cohort, and the only solution is to prioritize the
immunization of essential workers.
It is increasingly evident that the
COVID-19 decision-makers are detached from the reality that we live with. They
do not represent us. If they cannot or will not represent the people who
elected them, they must be replaced. There is no excuse for failing to
represent the people in a democracy.
Quebec has 22.6% of our population,
34.9% of COVID cases and 52.7% of COVID deaths. Why have we not banned all
travel in and out of Quebec? Quebec airports should be closed to all traffic.
The province is THE coronavirus hot spot in Canada.
The failure smells like fish kept too
long.
John Feldsted … is a political commentator, consultant, and strategist. He makes his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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