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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.