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Lilly: Algabra denies federal role in border bottleneck

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra attends a news conference in Ottawa, Feb. 15, 2022.
Omar Al Ghabra Transport Minister 2022 Attended a press conference in Ottawa on February 15, 2015. Photo by Blair Gable/File Photo/Reuters

Canadian airports and travel industry commonly face Anyone wanting to learn something new about the issue was left with a bitter disappointment on Friday afternoon.

Transport Minister Omar Al-Ghabra has effectively said the government does not need to change anything, including his troubled ArriveCan app.

"ArriveCan is a useful tool to help check a person's vaccination status before they arrive at the border," she said.

The minister has been told for months that there is a problem with the app. Recently, we have told many people who are fully vaccinated and not infected but will need to be quarantined for 14 days.

Mark Webber, head of the trade union representing Border Patrol, told The Windsor Star last month that , said this app is a real problem.

"The reality is that a lot of executive time is spent helping people finish their apps. because it's a non-negotiable requirement," he said Weber.

“We found that 30-40% of travelers showed up without completing either because they were unaware of its existence, were unable to complete it, or simply refused to complete it.

As a result, the average time it takes a passenger to clear customs has increased from 30-45 seconds to several minutes. That's why he has to wait two hours at customs at Pearson and Trudeau airports. This is also why there are long lines of cars at the border checkpoints.

As I write this, thegovernment's own website states his 40-minute waiting time in St He Armand, Quebec, and Sue He in St. It is shown that he is one hour late to enter Canada. Murray, Ontario, Niagara Falls in 47 minutes, Peace in Surrey, British Columbia, in Arches, he took 1 hour and 10 minutes. There are only a handful of delays in entering the country.

At one point, Alghabra actually claimed there was no evidence that the ArriveCan app would cause problems at border crossings or affect travel to Canada. did.

"There is no evidence," Algabra said. “But we are aware that some border communities have flagged this as a problem.

Border wait times alone should be a clue that there is an impact. Government communications from parties, chambers of commerce, and the many mayors and councils that have reached out should be a sign as well. If so, it's simply because he hasn't seen it.

This is not surprising: the Trudeau government blamed everyone but themselves for problems at Canadian airports this summer. The two biggest bottlenecks, security screening and customs, are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government, but the federal government has the ability to identify problems and offer constructive solutions.

Clearly there was a problem with the airline and airport management, and those responsible made changes to reduce the number of flights offered. The Trudeau government's main response has been to blame others, from airlines and airports to the passengers themselves.

Bloc Quebecois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval said 1 He put forward two good suggestions, perhaps that the government should uphold the same standards that it imposes on airlines in the Passenger Bill of Rights: If a government action or inaction causes a passenger to be delayed,

Just as Alghabra had no real answer to the question he faced, he soon found himself in this situation. Do not expect me to act on your ideas

bllley@postmedia.com

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