by Jim Byers
Last updated: 6:22 AM ET, Wed February 3, 2021
It's still not clear when Canada's new travel rules will come into effect. And nobody in the government seems to be offrering an end date, either.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday said he doesn't know when the new testing and quarantine regulations will take effect, or when they might end.
Canada's four major airlines have suspended all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30. The Liberal government in Ottawa also has announced mandatory COVID-19 testing for all passengers arriving in Canada and strict new quarantine rules that will require hotel stays of up to three days, at a cost of roughly $2,000 per person.
Asked in French yesterday if the new measures will end May 1, about the same time as the flight suspensions, Trudeau said he can't predict.
"We can take nothing for granted. We will keep the measures in place as long as needed to ensure the safety of Canadians. Since the fall, for months and months now, we've been saying to Canadians not to travel, not to leave the country, because we could not predict either the trajectory of the virus or the measures we would be taking," the PM said outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.
"I understand people are in a difficult situation, but we have said very clearly that we would establish measures to ensure the protection of Canadians, that there could be very little notice on the measures implemented."
Trudeau again said that the new rules for quarantines and testing should be announced "in the weeks to come."
"We're working very hard to create a system that (will be) established before people start travelling before the March break," he said.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra suggested recently that the new rules could start being implemented as soon as tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 4).
The lack of clarity on the new rules is causing confusion for agents, as well as for snowbirds who might want to come home from sun destinations .It's also tricky for Canadians who might need to fly somewhere soon for family or personal reasons.
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