by Jim Byers
Last updated: 12:05 AM ET, Sat January 23, 2021
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took his "no travel" talk to a higher level today, urging Canadians to not only avoid travel to sun destinations but also within Canada.
He also said mandatory quarantines at hotels for people returning or coming to Canada - an idea floated this week by Quebec Premier Francois Legault - is an idea that's under consideration and that tougher measures could be announced early next week.
"We will be telling you more in the days to come," he said.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair went further after Trudeau's talk, telling reporters that he's concerned about "loopholes" that have allowed Canadians and Americans to fly freely between the two countries while land borders were closed to all but essential travel.
"A loophole, frankly, does exist because the Americans previously had not placed any restriction on international flights coming into the US," Blair said. "That concerns us because that restriction is at our land border but not at air travel."
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau told CBC on Sunday that the Liberal government could invoke the federal Emergencies Act in a bid to limit travel.
"We are looking at all potential actions to make sure that we can achieve our aims," said Garneau, formerly the Canadian Transport Minister. "The Emergencies Act is something you don't consider lightly. But we are first and foremost concerned about the health and safety of Canadians. And if we can do that in a way that we have the regulatory power to do it, we will do it."
The words from Trudeau and his Cabinet ministers are bound to send a chill down the spines of anyone in the travel and tourism industry in Canada, which has already been battered by 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked if he might stop certain flights in or out of Canada, an idea discussed earlier on Friday by Dominic Leblanc, Trudeau's Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Trudeau replied, "As I said a few days ago, this is no time to be taking a trip abroad, especially a non-essential trip or a vacation. We will perhaps be implementing new measures without any warning, and these measures wil make it much more difficult for Canadians to come home after a trip."
Trudeau said changes are needed to keep Canadians safe from new variants of the coronavirus. He also said things should change in the spring when more vaccinations have taken place.
Trudeau said Canadians should avoid not only out-of-country trips but also cross-country holidays for March Break.
"This is a time to hunker down," he said at a morning briefing outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister said he spoke with provincial premiers on Thursday and that he's committed to keeping borders safe. He also cautioned that Canadians don't want borders "to open too early."
Topics From This Article to Explore
