Trudeau Liberals quietly rewrite quarantine rules at Canada-US border, exclude 75 percent vaccination threshold

The Trudeau Liberal Cabinet quietly rewrote quarantine rules Saturday affecting cross-border travellers and signalling the imminent easing of restrictions on non-essential trips after 16 long months.

This comes after they agreed to relax travel restrictions on the Canada-US border for fully vaccinated Americans on Aug. 9. As of July 5, fully vaccinated travellers are no longer required by law to quarantine and can recuse themselves from a post-arrival test unless randomly selected.

CTV News previously reported that over 80 percent of respondents in a Nanos poll put public health above the economy and job creation, with the exception of the Prairies, when it came to reopening the border.

"We do recognize Canadians are anxious," said Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc, who previously said the federal government is "approaching the issue with caution," citing the "threat" posed by COVID-19 variants. Ongoing travel restrictions expire without renewal on Wednesday.

On Thursday, an Angus Reid Institute poll Thursday indicated that 69 percent of Canadians want a 75 percent full vaccination threshold at minimum before further border relaxations are approved.

About 40 percent of surveyed Canadians said in the same poll that the vaccine threshold should exceed 75 percent, citing concerns about greater transmission rates for the Delta variant and significant vaccine resistance in the US.

However, the new Quarantine Act rules delete a requirement that a minimum of 75 percent of Canadians must be fully vaccinated before the most onerous rules were lifted, according to Blacklocks. Currently, 50 percent of those over age 12 are fully vaccinated. The Public Health Agency did not issue any statement, but LeBlanc told reporters last Thursday that the cabinet was "prepared to take additional progressive steps" to lift travel restrictions.

"We do recognize Canadians are anxious, and particularly in the domestic context, to be able to once again see family members and travel," said LeBlanc. "We hope they can safely do so over the nice weeks of the summer ahead of us." Cabinet had quarantined the border on March 20, 2020, nine days after the outbreak.

A recent July 3 quarantine notice stated: "Until the Canadian population has reached over 75 percent of the domestic population vaccinated with two doses, these measures remain the most effective means of limiting the introduction and spread of new cases of Covid-19 and the variants of concern."

The latest notice Saturday dropped all references to the 75 percent vaccine quota. It stated: "The government will consider a blend of criteria including hospital capacity, infection rates, variants of concern and eligible population vaccination rates when determining when to transition through this phase of reopening."

"There are still some significant challenges with COVID-19," LeBlanc told reporters: "Vaccinations are by far the best protection people can have, but we understand from the tourism sector, we understand from the hospitality industry, the general desire of Canadians to be able to travel."

"We will have more to say in the coming days," he added.

"What are the specific conditions in Canada you want to see before easing more of the restrictions at the border?" asked a reporter. "We understand very, very much Canadians’ desire to be able to travel again," replied LeBlanc.

Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer, did not mention the deletion of the 75 percent vaccine quota when speaking with reporters, diverting to note that hospitalizations and deaths are all trending downwards "in a very good and dramatic fashion."

"With eight weeks to go before Labour Day, getting vaccinated is one of the key preparations," said Njoo. "For all those who are eligible but have yet to receive the vaccine, time is of the essence."