ArriveCan app blocks parade plans for N.B.-Maine festival
Hopes for the return of a beloved international tradition between St. Stephen, N.B., and Calais, Maine, have once again been sidelined due to pandemic land border restrictions.
A parade between both communities had been a flagship part of the International Homecoming Festival since 1974. Restrictions against non-essential land border crossings stopped the two-country procession from going forward in 2020 and 2021.
Several land border restrictions have lifted this summer, but the lingering requirement of the ArriveCan app is once again preventing a parade.
“It just wasn’t feasible to do so with the ArriveCan app,” said Tammy Anderson, the International Homecoming Festival’s committee chair for Canada. “To come back and forth across the border at this time is difficult because of ArriveCan.”
Other events for the 2022 International Homecoming Festival are being scheduled for five days from Aug. 3 to 7.
“We hope that both sides of our communities celebrate together at the different things happening,” said Anderson.
Last week, the Canadian government said ArriveCan requirements would remain in effect at the Canadian border until at least Sept. 30.
Carole Smith, a lifelong resident of Calais, said it was disappointing to approach another festival without the once enduring parade.
“I’m going to miss it, I’m really going to miss it,” said Smith. “It’s always been a part of what has gone on for years and it seems like there’s a lot of things that just sort of fade away.”
Prior to the pandemic, the parade’s last major obstacle had been maneuvering through heightened security measures and the eventual requirement of passports, post-9/11.
Last year, the only festival event shared simultaneously between both St. Stephen and Calais was the fireworks presentation over the St. Croix River.
THE FUTURE OF ARRIVECAN
With ArriveCan, any person arriving at a Canadian border must have their vaccine information and travel documents uploaded to an online form.
Several travellers who’ve arrived at the Canadian border without ArriveCan information submitted have been turned around and told to return once the form was completed.
The federal government said Canadian residents who don’t complete an ArriveCan form may be subject to a COVID-19 test before entering the country, with another test on the eighth day of their 14-day quarantine, regardless of vaccine status. Foreign nationals may be denied entry without a completed ArriveCAN form and any traveller who failed to submit their information and proof of vaccination using ArriveCAN may be fined $5,000.
Mayors along the Canada-U.S. border and tourism industry leaders have called for the Canadian government to remove ArriveCan requirements.
Last week, Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said ArriveCan may be applied beyond the pandemic. Mendicino said the forms helped reduce border delays and added compliance had been high.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.