Canadians deserve transparency on travel mandates and Public Health decisions

NDP Transport Critic Taylor Bachrach made the following statement:

“Canadians are frustrated, the delays in airports have forced people to postpone or even cancel long awaited travel plans to see loved ones. After two years of making sacrifices to protect the health of our communities and loved ones, these delays have been extremely hard on Canadians.

When the border restrictions were lifted, we knew Canadians would need to get passports and would make travel plans - But the Liberals failed to plan. Now Canadians are paying the price.

Today’s announcement to lift travel mandates is welcomed news, but without transparency it leaves more questions than answers. For over a month we’ve been calling on the government to be more transparent with Canadians – they haven’t been. Now this leaves Canadians asking what’s changed?

In the meantime, the suspension of vaccination requirements will do little to ease the delays and crowding at airports which are happening because of staffing shortages. Airport staff are bearing the brunt of this crisis. They’re over-worked, underpaid and facing issues like excessive overtime and missed breaks.

The Liberals must be clear about how they will fix their own failures and manage the significant delays and disruptions they have caused. New Democrats will keep pushing to make sure that the government is transparent about how decisions are being made on public health measures, that they address airport delays and support workers.”