US Congressmen representing New York State’s Border District are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to end mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app for those seeking to enter Canada.
Elise Stefanikthe Republican representative of New York’s 21st District, To tell The app disrupted travel from the United States to Canada, damaging cross-border tourism and commerce between the two countries.
“Instead of undermining the partnership’s success with misplaced costs such as the use of the Canadian government-mandated ArriveCAN app, we should work to further develop the partnership,” Stefanik said on August 18. . letter Kirsten Hillman, Ambassador of Canada to the United States.
“This requirement discourages travel, impedes the flow of commerce and burdens travelers with submitting personal health information.”
✏️? We are asking the Government of Canada to end mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app.
Use of the Canada-mandated app has disrupted northern border travel and damaged cross-border tourism and commerce.
Full text of my letter: pic.twitter.com/La40nw70hx
— Rep. Ellis Stefanik (@RepStefanik) August 18, 2022
Three days before her letter, the Canadian Federation of Chambers of Commerce called on the federal government to scrap the app, including ending all remaining COVID-related border restrictions.
Rakesh Naidu, CEO of the Windsor Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, said: joint press release August 12th.
“More than half of the trade Canada does with the U.S. is by truck. increase.”
Launched by the federal government in November 2020, the ArriveCAN app was created as a COVID-19 screening tool to ensure incoming travelers are vaccinated and facilitate contact tracing. rice field.
Refusal to use the app to provide required information such as contact information, travel documents and plans, proof of vaccinations, etc. Fines up to $5,000 under quarantine laws.
In June, the liberal government said the app would be at least September 30Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino has indicated that ArriveCan will outlast the pandemic as part of a strategy aimed at reducing border bottlenecks.
“Huge” backlog, long wait times
Stefanik says the app instead creates a “significant backlog” with Canadian customs.
“People crossing borders are often unfamiliar with the ArriveCAN app’s onerous requirements and do not complete them until they arrive at the Canadian port of entry,” her letter said.
“As a result, travelers are choosing to stay at home rather than face long wait times and the frustration of the ArriveCAN app.”
Members of the House Transport Committee likewise voted unanimously to pass a motion on August 8, asking Transport Minister Omar Al-Ghabra to testify to address the ArriveCAN system and airport delays, addressing the issue. I picked it up.
in him testimony before the committee on August 19thAlgabra defended the app and accused COVID-19 of causing airport delays.
Several Conservative MPs had questions focused on the ArriveCAN app, which Alghabra said had helped reduce wait times by digitizing the process.
More than 10,000 vaccinated travelers were told to quarantine when they didn’t need to because of an application glitch last month.
A group of border chambers of commerce, including Greater Kingston, Sarnia Lambton and Ontario’s Greater Niagara Chambers of Commerce, said U.S. visitors “are still significantly down” across Canada.
“Despite a halving of traffic, wait times at border crossings have increased by up to two hours since 2019, and bridge officials attribute this entirely to the regulations and the ArriveCAN app.” Union said.
“The average handling time for arriving passengers at the airport has increased by 400%.”
‘No public health purpose’
In mid-June, a group of mayors in a Canadian border town said at a virtual press conference that the Liberal government’s pandemic travel rules were ravaging their communities.
“Here in Niagara, 40,000 people rely on tourism to support their families. We always say, ‘Follow the science.’ Well, scientists are now saying there’s no reason to use the ArriveCAN app,” Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said at the time.
Stefanik told Hillman that the ArriveCAN app “serves no public health purposes” and only plays a detrimental role in commerce and border traffic flows.
“I urge you and the Government of Canada to stop the harmful impact of this app on our border areas and to cease its necessary use immediately,” she said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Hillman’s office, but did not hear back by publication time.
Noé Chartier and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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Isaac Teo is a Toronto-based reporter for the Epoch Times.