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canada covid-19 rules

Canada is dropping most of the remaining federal COVID-19 travel restrictions, including the mask requirement on planes and trains, as of October 1. Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said health checks for air and rail travel will also end.

"All" remaining border measures will end on October 1, too, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced. That includes the mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, testing, quarantine and isolation rules, as well as the requirement for travellers to present proof of COVID-19 vaccination and report any symptoms.

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Canada's travel rules are easing again. On Thursday, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced the end of pre-arrival testing for fully-vaccinated travellers flying or driving into the country. The rule change takes effect on April 1.

Currently, travellers need to get a valid, negative molecular or antigen test before their arrival in Canada.

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As an investigation continues, Transport Canada announced it has issued penalties to six passengers aboard the now-infamous Quebec Sunwing flight to Cancun on December 30. The penalties could carry fines as high as $5,000.

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said the six people were not fully vaccinated when they boarded the charter flight despite a federal vaccination requirement for air travellers.

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Unlike the demonstrations in Quebec City and Montreal, where protesters made their point and promptly left, the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa wreaked havoc on daily life in the capital for 23 days before police cleared it out. Now, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson is suggesting the city should begin selling the cars and trucks that have been towed in connection to the convoy.

"We actually have the ability to confiscate those vehicles and sell them," Watson told CBC News. "And I want to see them sold. I don't want the return to these people who've been causing such frustration and angst in our community."

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In the third week of the Ottawa trucker convoy protest, the movement is getting negative reviews from Canadians at large, a survey from the Angus Reid Institute shows.

69% of the 1,622 Canadians who responded to the online survey said they oppose protesters' "approach and behaviour." 64% opposed their "demand to end all pandemic restrictions," even as several provinces move to speed up the gradual return to "more normal lives."

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At a press conference on Friday, February 11, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos described the conditions that would make "living with the virus" possible in Canada.

Officials have begun to throw the phrase around to describe the next phase of health measures. In a remarkable move, Quebec Premier François Legault said on February 8 that a slow withdrawal of many of the most stringent restrictions means that Quebecers could see something resembling a "more normal life" by mid-March.

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Lockdown. Reopening. Higher case counts. Longer lockdown. Slow reopening. Mini lockdown. Slow return to normal life (?). An online graph by the Bank of Canada puts the trajectory of pandemic restrictions into perspective.

The graph illustrates the severity of health measures and messaging in each Canadian province since January 2020. The Bank of Canada used what's called a COVID-19 stringency index to compile it, assigning values to publicly available rules and information campaigns. It does not measure the effect of these measures on the contagion.

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The provincial government is easing some COVID-19 restrictions in Quebec, however, a majority of the population believe it is now time to end all rules set in place, according to a new poll.

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) surveyed 1,688 Canadian adults between January 27 and 28 and asked whether COVID-19 restrictions should come to an end, allowing those at-risk to self-isolate if they're at risk.

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The Sunwing debacle, beginning with the now-infamous flight to Cancun on December 30, has been completely bonkers. Local celebrities and "influencers" didn't just throw a party on a charter flight in apparent, complete disregard of COVID-19 regulations, they shared videos of the party online, and then seemed surprised by the backlash.

And there was backlash. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself called them "idiots." Sunwing said it tried to negotiate their return home, but that the group rejected the company's terms. Sunwing, Air Canada and Air Transat all subsequently refused to let the passengers of the flight fly home, leaving the Trudeau-designated "idiots" to fend for themselves in Mexico.

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The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is warning of possible traffic on Quebec roads as a trucker convoy heads towards Ottawa on Friday and Saturday, January 27 and 28. The provincial police force says it's deploying officers to affected areas to "avoid any overflow" as truck drivers approach the capital. It's asking residents to plan their trips before departing.

Drivers are converging on Ottawa in protest of the federal government's vaccination requirement for truck drivers entering Canada. Unvaccinated truckers crossing the border are still allowed in the country if they're citizens, permanent residents, or registered under the Indian Act, but have to follow testing and quarantine requirements. These rules took effect on January 15.

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Barred from boarding two airlines, subject to an investigation by the Canadian government and now on the receiving end of ridicule by the prime minister of Canada — the group of Quebec influencers reportedly shown on video partying maskless on a private Sunwing flight to Cancun might not be having the relaxing week they thought would.

Justin Trudeau weighed in on the incident in a press conference on Wednesday. He said it was "unacceptable that people are putting at risk, not just other passengers, not just airline workers, but their fellow citizens."

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A group of Quebecers shown on video having a largely maskless party aboard a private Sunwing flight to Cancun risk fines of up to $5,000 per offence if they're found to have committed them, Transport Canada has warned.

The Journal de Montréal first reported on the video of the group, which the publication identified as including influencers and dating reality show stars. The video has since been deleted, but the Journal said it showed individuals dancing, smoking and drinking personal supplies of alcohol aboard the December 30 flight.

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