ArriveCan removal prompts relief, indifference on N.B. and Maine border
Saturday’s removal of the ArriveCan mandate is prompting a range of reactions, from relief to indifference, at one of New Brunswick and Maine’s busiest border crossings.
People arriving at the Canadian border are no longer required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccinations, via the ArriveCan app, or be subject to random mandatory COVID-19 tests.
As well, unvaccinated travellers will no longer be required to isolate once entering Canada.
“I’m so happy,” says Wayne Ganong. “I’m on cloud nine because I don’t have any more obstacles to get over, or hurdles.”
Ganong says he only made one trip from St. Stephen, N.B. to Calais, Maine with the ArriveCan requirement in effect. He says he never made another attempt because of trouble returning to Canada.
“I have a flip phone which is ancient and I couldn't answer all the questions and so forth,” says Ganong. “I had a bad experience, and so did 14 other seniors who came in the same day I did. Because what they were told, and what they had to have, wasn't what they thought.”
When the ArriveCan requirements took effect Nov. 30, 2021 at Canadian border crossings, several residents – particularly seniors – found they hadn’t filled the forms out correctly.
Staff at the public library in Calais, Maine, were overwhelmed in their attempts to help stranded travellers. The ArriveCan app also impacted events from proceeding between both communities.
St. Stephen resident Paulette Parker was reluctant to fill out an ArriveCan form, but now says she’s eager to cross the border.
“I have relatives in Bangor,” says Parker. “I have sisters there and I have a nephew.”
Some in the St. Stephen area already made a pledge months ago to stay on the Canadian side of the border, regardless of any ArriveCan changes.
“For whatever reasons, I choose to stay in Canada,” says St. Stephen resident Levonne Hastey. “Everything I want is here.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.