Multiple chambers of commerce in communities bordering the United States are calling on the Trudeau government to discontinue the controversial ArriveCan app requirement when entering the country.
According to CTV News, the coalition argues that the ArriveCan is negatively affecting Canada’s tourism industry by requiring Americans to show proof of vaccination increasing the boarding time for each traveller.
Rakesh Naidu of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce said that the measures are cause for concern not just for Canada’s tourism industry, but also for the broader economy.
“The border measures are not only slowing down border crossings, but they’re also having a deterrent effect on visitors from the USA,” said Naidu.
“The ArriveCAN app is hurting both our tourism industry and our economy in general. It isn’t only affecting the tourism industry.”
Naidu also had concerns about how the government’s ongoing Covid restrictions are impacting truckers crossing the Canada-U.S. border. He said that the ArriveCan requirement puts more strain on the trucking industry and adds additional pressure to national supply chains.
“More than half of the total trade Canada conducts with the United States is by truck. The additional time and resources spent on border measures and the ArriveCAN app slows the crossing for all and puts additional strain on already stretched supply chains,” said Naidu.
Further, despite the Freedom Convoy protesting at the nation’s capital for over three weeks, the Trudeau government has not rescinded the Canada-U.S. border vaccine mandate for truckers.
The ArriveCan app’s introduction in 2020 created much frustration for travellers arriving at Canadian airports and border crossings unaware of the app’s existence or frustrated with the complicated application process. The app has also had frequent technical glitches and errors, including mistakenly forcing fully-vaccinated Canadians to quarantine following their return to Canada.
Mark Weber of the Customs and Immigration Union says that up to “30, 35 per cent approximately of travellers are arriving without having completed the app.”
According to Statscan, in June 2022 Canada attracted roughly half of the American border crossers compared to June 2019.
Despite traffic at the border being nearly halved, wait times at the borders have doubled.
