The federal government has paused the mandatory randomized arrival testing for incoming travellers at Canada's airports until July 1.
As a result, starting Saturday, June 11, only unvaccinated travellers will be required to take a test upon entry into Canada. The policy change is being billed as a "pause" because random arrival testing will be suspended between Saturday and June 30 - and the government plans to bring it back on July 1.
In a report Friday, a spokeperson for Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told CBC Senior Writer John Paul Tasker, "It is important to note that [randomized testing] will be reinstated as this is the only way we have of detecting new variants coming into the country, given that provinces and territories are no longer doing any PCR testing," said Marie-France Proulx.
Up to now, fully vaccinated travellers were being subjected to random COVID-19 testing upon arrival. The testing requirement has come under criticism from airlines, airports and some public health experts, who say the process is unnecessary at this stage of the pandemic and is adding to already lengthy airport delays, created by surging passenger numbers and staff shortages.
The government has defended the arrival testing program as a method to track how many COVID-19 cases are coming into the country and as an early warning system for new variants of concern.
The policy change will likely be described as a "pause" through the end of the month, leaving the option open to bring back the requirement should conditions warrant.
The CBC also says that the government is also expected to announce that arrival testing for unvaccinated travellers will soon be moved off-site, enabling airports to remove dedicated testing sites that have taken up space in the customs halls.
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