'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
The federal government welcomed fully vaccinated foreign nationals back to Canadian soil Tuesday as frustrated families on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border urged Congress to find out why the White House isn't following their lead.
As of midnight Monday night, quarantine requirements were eased for non-essential international travellers who have had a full course of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine.
To be eligible, travellers must have allowed at least 14 days to pass since their last vaccine shot and show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that's no more than 72 hours old.
They are also required to use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.
The change marked the latest stage in Canada's gradual easing of travel restrictions that were first imposed on travellers of all nationalities at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic back in March 2020.
But nearly 18 months later, the U.S. has resisted the mounting pressure to reciprocate, frustrating businesses that depend on incidental cross-border traffic and angering residents desperate to see expatriate friends and family.
"The U.S. government has failed to follow the science and allow vaccinated and tested Canadians to cross the U.S.-Canada land border," the grassroots group Let Us Reunite said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the group urged its thousands of Facebook followers to barrage U.S. legislators with demands for a congressional hearing into the imbalance, singling out Homeland Security committee leaders Sen. Gary Peters and Rep. Bennie Thompson.
They want the Senate and House committees "to provide oversight and accountability by adding the U.S.-Canada border closure to their committee agendas and conduct hearings on the impact" of the travel ban.
"Eighteen months is too long to separate families when reunification can be done safely."
So far, Canada's experience appears to bear that out.
Nearly three weeks after fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents were allowed back over the border, random COVID-19 surveillance tests found a positivity rate of just 0.19 per cent, despite a growing caseload in both countries.
"While cases are currently increasing in Canada, the illness severity and hospitalization rates remain manageable as Canada's vaccination rates continue to rise," the Canada Border Services Agency said in a release.
"This data, along with continued adherence to public health measures by Canadians and incoming travellers, means that Canada is better able to prevent outbreaks of infection and can now allow more incoming fully vaccinated travellers without increasing the risk to the health and safety of Canadians."
Eligible foreign nationals planning to take advantage of the latest Canadian exemption were mainly expected to be arriving by air, making matters easier for border agents.
"The great thing in air is that you've got the airline working with you," said Denis Vinette, vice-president of the agency's travellers branch.
Airlines, he said, "will not allow individuals to get on if they're not meeting all of the requirements."
Canada has approved four COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, also known as Covishield, and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson option.
Vinette said the agency will continue to conduct random tests among travellers, part of a surveillance program that has been in place since the phased-in process of easing travel restrictions began earlier this summer.
Direct flights from India and Morocco will remain suspended until at least later this month. Travellers from either country who take an indirect route to Canada will be required to produce a recent negative molecular test taken in a third country.
In addition to the land borders with Canada and Mexico, the U.S. has restricted travel from several foreign countries, including China, India, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and the 26 European countries without border controls, known as the Schengen group.
The borders with Canada and Mexico are widely seen in a different category, in part because of the close trade ties between the three countries as well as the fact that visitors can arrive by land without the help of a private-sector company like an airline or cruise ship operator.
While non-essential Canadian travellers are forbidden from entering the country by land, rail, ferry and pleasure boat, air and sea travellers have been exempt from the outset -- a discrepancy that infuriates families with members who live a short drive over the border from each other.
The ongoing restrictions have at least made life easier for Canada's border agents. The inability to cross into the U.S. for short incidental trips has meant fewer people trying to return to Canada than might otherwise be the case.
"In a normal year, throughout the summer, about 65 per cent of our border crossings are what we term day trippers," Vinette said.
"Currently, we only have unidirectional entry, and so you don't have day trippers from Canada going to the U.S. and then coming back, which is a significant portion of our usual traffic volumes."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2021.
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.