The federal government is also removing masking requirements on planes and trains, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced at the same briefing.
The mandatory ArriveCAN app required people to upload vaccination certificates and other travel information before arriving in Canada. It has been made mandatory under the Quarantine Act – measures which will expire on September 30.
Duclos said the government reserves the right to reinstate certain border measures if necessary against new variants of concern or other threats.
Title issues: ArriveCan has been blamed for congestion at Canadian airports over the summer, although investigations revealed myriad issues at play. The tool misfired in June and July, sending automated messages that led some 10 000 Apple users in quarantine.
In defense of ArriveCAN: In mid-August, amid calls to “remove the app,” Alghabra was called to a summer meeting of the House Transportation Committee. He told MPs that the compliance rate among international arrivals was 99.5%.
In fact, he warned MPs: “If we suspend ArriveCAN today, it will add significant complications to the congestion we have at our airports.
During the same meeting, Denis Vinette of the Canada Border Services Agency’s Travelers Branch dismissed accusations that the app was to blame for border delays. “Without ArriveCAN, it would take a lot longer to process individuals than it currently takes,” he told MPs.
And after: The House International Trade Committee has launched a study of the impacts of the application on certain sectors of the Canadian economy. On Tuesday, MPs will hear from senior officials from the Customs and Immigration Union and the Frontier Duty Free Association.
Canada’s Deputy Health Minister Howard Njoo said Monday the vaccinations had changed “Canada’s scorecard” and used the press conference to urge Canadians to bolster their enhanced status.
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