Senior charged in shooting of teen on rural property north of Edmonton
A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
Canada is once again requiring all incoming travellers, regardless of trip length or location, to provide proof of a pre-arrival negative molecular COVID-19 test in order to enter the country, and is ending its travel ban on 10 African countries.
The federal government announced Friday that the updated pre-arrival testing requirement will come into effect on Dec. 21.
This means that as of next Tuesday, all travellers coming back into Canada after trips of 72 hours or less to the United States or other international locations will have to take a PCR test in a country other than Canada, before their scheduled departure.
This requirement was already in place for anyone coming into the country from longer trips abroad.
Asked what the justification was for reinstating that rule for short trips, given incubation periods, Health Minister jean-Yves Duclos said that while it may not catch every case, it’s “an additional layer” of protection for both the travellers and for those who would be exposed to them once they come back home.
In addition to the pre-departure tests, late last month the government imposed new on-arrival testing requirements on all air travellers coming from outside of Canada with the exception of the U.S., due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
This policy requires any travellers entering the country to be tested upon arrival—either at the airport or in some cases given a take-home test—and isolate until they receive a negative result. This policy has not changed. However, Duclos signalled that the federal government is preparing new land-crossing measures, including likely ramping up on-arrival testing.
Over the last few weeks, the federal government has been scaling up capacity at airports to conduct the required on-arrival tests, though they are still not at full capacity to administer these tests.
“Officials are working closely with airport authorities, airlines, and testing providers and many other partners to increase capacity at airports, manage traveller flow, and to make sure that the best testing protocol are implemented and as efficiently as possible,” Duclos said Friday.
As for the ending of the additional measures for travellers returning from South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt, the policy will be lifted as of Dec. 18 at 11:59pm.
The ban restricted the entry into Canada of all foreign nationals who travelled to these countries in the last 14 days. Canadians, permanent residents, as well as all those who have the right to return to Canada have still been able to fly home but have faced new testing and government quarantine facility stays upon arrival.
Now, citing the widespread community transmission of Omicron across the globe, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Friday that upon reconsideration, these measures are no longer required for these specific nations.
Canada had been facing questions about the ongoing scientific basis for these measures given other nations have lifted their bans, with federal health officials earlier this week stating they couldn’t say what the rationale was and that the policy should be re-examined.
“While we recognize that this initial emergency measure created controversy, we believe it was a necessary measure to slow the arrival of Omicron in Canada at a time of uncertainty and unknowns,” Duclos said. “Given the current situation, this measure has served its purpose.”
On Wednesday, the federal government reinstated its non-essential travel advisory, calling on Canadians to avoid international travel due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Duclos said Friday that because the government is still learning about Omicron and its transmissibility, severity and the ongoing effectiveness of vaccines and treatments against the new variant, it is necessary to continue evolving Canada’s border measures.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday that increasingly Omicron cases in Canada are “not linked to travel,” and have been found in individuals who are unvaccinated, fully vaccinated, and previously infected. Federal officials continue to encourage all who can to book booster shot appointments.
“I will say it again: now is not the time to travel,” said the health minister.
“We know how difficult it is for Canadians to have to postpone their travel to visit families or friends or to take a break abroad. We are also aware of the many Canadians who are listening, and are cancelling their trips. These Canadians are leading by example and helping protect the health of their family, their community and of themselves. We do not want you to be stranded or sick abroad.”
A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
Authorities broke up an altercation involving "numerous" golfers at a course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend – an incident that was apparently prompted by serious breaches in etiquette.
Former Breakfast Television co-host and radio broadcaster Scott Boyd has died at the age of 68.
An Ontario judge has granted the University of Toronto an injunction allowing it to clear out a pro-Palestinian encampment from its downtown Toronto campus
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday he has 'so many skeletons in my closet,' when asked about an allegation in a Vanity Fair article that he sexually assaulted a former family babysitter.
An eastern Ontario doctor facing four charges of first-degree murder and negligence causing death in connection with the deaths of four seniors at a Hawkesbury hospital was acquitted on all charges at the Ottawa courthouse on Tuesday.
Police in Cornwall, Ont. have seized approximately $1.3 million worth of cocaine and $300,000 in cash as part of a major drugs investigation.
Are you choosing not to have children? CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.
It's become difficult to deny the impact of favourable tax situations for teams around the NHL.
When Zhya Aramiy was living in Turkey and Iraq, he had to keep his Pride flags hidden away.
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.