Do your homework before you travel -- even within Atlantic bubble
There are a lot of different requirements to remember for travellers hoping to take advantage of loosening restrictions around the Maritimes.
If you're hoping to cross the Confederation Bridge in either direction this summer, be prepared to spend some time in front of your computer first.
Anyone hoping to head to Prince Edward Island this summer needs a P.E.I. Pass.
"The instructions for doing the P.E.I. Pass are quite lengthy," said Peter McDougall of Wheatley River, P.E.I. "I think you have to scroll down like two full pages to get through it all."
Now that border restrictions are loosening across the Maritimes, McDougall is hoping to travel to Fredericton to see family.
Despite being an Island resident, public health rules require him to apply for a P.E.I. Pass to return home.
"It's not the problem of getting into New Brunswick. It's a problem of getting back into Prince Edward Island," McDougall said.
He says he was asked to provide photos of his driver's license, health card, and proof of vaccination. He was hoping to hit the road in the next 10 days, but he's still waiting for approval
"Now, I sit and wait and of course that's a little bit nerve wracking because we desperately want to go," McDougall said.
Taylor Gavin works in Nova Scotia, but is hoping to travel back home to P.E.I. next week.
"You need certain requirements, so then it's like 'OK, do I qualify for this date or do I go to the later date because I'm not essential?" Gavin said. "But I have my vaccine, now I have two vaccines, but it's just all over the place I find."
Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown hopes confusion with the pass will be short-lived, but says he appreciates the level of precaution his province is taking.
"Its better to be safe than sorry, and every precaution that we can take to keep us in a safe position and keep the community free of any cases whether they're new variants or new mutations of this COVID-19 pandemic," Brown said.
But Gavin worries the difficulties could keep some visitors off the Island.
"I hope there isn't long border wait times, and I hope that people can easily go to where they want to go to to see their family and friends without saying 'I don't have time to sit for three or four hours at the border.'"
The P.E.I. Pass comes into effect on June 27th.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.