Liberal government fails on enforcing border measures to keep Canadians safe

NDP critic for health Don Davies and NDP critic for transport Taylor Bachrach made the following statement:

“Today, a very troubling report from the Auditor General reveals that the Trudeau government failed to verify whether travellers actually followed mandatory quarantine orders after crossing the border. It found that quarantine orders could not be verified for more than a third of incoming travellers. The government is missing or unable to match 30 per cent of COVID-19 test results from travellers, and they could only verify that 25 per cent of incoming air travellers quarantined at an authorized hotel. This is negligence of gross proportions.

We know that border control measures that are evidence-based and well enforced can limit the number of COVID-19 cases and its variants in Canada. But without knowing for sure whether travellers followed quarantine orders, no one knows whether the government’s border measures are working. This government may have put Canadians at risk of getting COVID.

The NDP supports the calls made in this report. These include improving the enforcement of emergency orders to limit the spread of COVID-19, using better information to determine if its follow-up enforcement approach is working, and enforcing border measures across the country, including exploring other tools to be used in all Canadian jurisdictions.

Canadians need to know that the government is effectively enforcing quarantine and border measures – that’s a bare minimum.

As a longer-term solution, New Democrats are also calling for Trudeau’s government to stop defending the profits of big Pharma and support the push for all countries to be able to produce COVID vaccines. The only way we can defeat this pandemic is if everyone has access to vaccination. It’s time for the Trudeau Liberals to support a TRIPS waiver at the WTO.”