OTTAWA— As the COVID-19 pandemic reached into the White House, infecting U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, Canada moved to relax border restrictions slightly to permit more international students, unmarried couples and relatives in compassionate cases to enter the country.
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News of the Trumps’ diagnoses put the contrasting approaches by the two governments and their leaders in stark relief on Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has endorsed masks and social distancing at every turn, posted a statement on Twitter that he repeated later, wishing both Trump and his wife — who have not consistently adopted the same practices — “a safe and speedy recovery.” He recalled they reached out to his own family when Trudeau’s wife Sophie tested positive for COVID-19 in the spring.
The prime minister was silent when asked twice whether he expects the Trump administration to manage the pandemic differently now that Trump himself has contracted the coronavirus. He underscored that Canada wants to see the virus come under control here and “right around the world.”
He urged other countries to take Canada’s nonpoliticized approach.
“Obviously there is an election going on in the U.S. where stances or approaches on COVID-19 have been a polarized, political issue,” Trudeau said.
“In Canada, we’ve been extremely lucky that it has not, that there has been a concerted effort across orders of government, across political parties, to work together to be there for Canadians and to get this virus under control. We’re certainly going to continue with that in Canada and we recommend it as a path for people all around the world.”
Canadians made sacrifices, often heartbreaking, to respond to #COVID19. Thanks to these measures and the public health presence at ports of entry, we can now confirm a new process for entry applications for extended family and for compassionate reasons. https://t.co/QFOqucSVWt
— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) October 2, 2020
Trudeau said Canada’s management of the epidemic, which has included a ban on all non-essential travel, has proven effective in limiting transmission by international travellers and their contacts. Most new infections here are due to community transmission, Trudeau said, which means Canada can afford to tweak its own border restrictions.
At Queen’s Park, Premier Doug Ford, who has been critical of Trump for trying to limit the export of pandemic equipment to Canada and for launching trade wars, wished him and his wife the best, reports the Star’s Robert Benzie.
“Everyone knows I’ve had my differences with President Trump…But believe me, I wouldn’t want this to happen to my worst enemy. Prayers and thoughts are with them. We may have our political differences, but … put it aside. I’m praying for all of them to get better soon.”
In Ottawa, Trudeau pivoted quickly from Trump’s diagnosis to the challenges facing Canadians.
“Let’s not forget that yesterday thousands of Canadians received a positive diagnosis of COVID-19,” said Trudeau.
Trudeau and several cabinet ministers insisted that new eased border measures will not pose a risk, even as Ontario and Quebec are into a second wave.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair would not say how soon broader restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border might be lifted, saying they are being re-evaluated “every day.”
For now, Ottawa has announced expanded travel exemptions to allow further family reunification and let more foreign students into Canada, while stepping up quarantine and tracing efforts to prevent COVID-19 transmissions from across the border.
Since March, Canada has imposed tight travel restrictions against foreign nationals unless their visits are considered essential. Limited exceptions have been granted to immediate families of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, selected international students, essential workers and temporary foreign workers.
On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino expanded the exemptions to three new groups of visitors:
- Significant others of Canadians, who are not married or common law, but are in a committed, long-term dating relationship;
- Foreign nationals hoping to visit a relative who has serious illnesses or injuries and is dying; and
- International students who are enrolled in a designated school that has a COVID-19 plan sanctioned by provincial authorities.
Starting next week, specific forms will be available on the immigration department’s website for applicants in each category so they can be verified and receive pre-approvals before arriving at a port of entry. Entries may be permitted as soon as Oct. 8.
Strict 14-day quarantine measures will still apply, and people entering Canada must provide contact information for enforcing the quarantine and undergo screening by a border official.
Mendocino directly acknowledged Sarah Campbell who is battling cancer and whose fiancé Jacob Taylor has been unable to rejoin her from the United Kingdom, saying he was glad to be able to make changes for compassionate cases like theirs, which he noted was her fiancé’s birthday.
Dr. David Edward-Ooi Poon who founded an advocacy group calling for less restrictive measures, welcomed and thanked the government for the changes. He said it was a “complex and difficult issue,” but questioned the lengthy delay, saying an earlier mechanism would have brought peace for the family of Donna McCall, a Canadian mother who died waiting for her adult children to come to Canada.
The presence of federal public health officers at the border is also being scaled up over the coming months to cover 36 ports of entry that account for 90 per cent of all traffic into Canada during normal operations. A total force of 190 public health officials will also be deployed across the country by the end of March 2021.
And to improve information-sharing, the Public Health Agency of Canada has deployed digital portals for travellers to share their critical information, including through the tracing app, so data can be transmitted to provinces and territories quickly and securely.
Culled from thestar.com
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