Toronto Pearson still not testing all international travellers, waiting for start date from government
Days after the Canadian government announced mandatory COVID-19 testing for all international travellers, the new program is still not in place at Toronto Pearson.
Officials announced Tuesday that all international travellers, with the exception of the U.S., returning to Canada would be required to take a COVID-19 test and isolate at home until they received the results.
The government said the "unprecedented and swift action" was taken to protect Canadians against the omicron variant.
"We are taking quick action at our borders to mitigate travel related importations of the Omicron variant," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Tuesday.
But four days later, Toronto Pearson said they are still waiting for a date from the federal government about when the new testing program will come into effect.
Until the program comes into effect, COVID-19 testing of international travellers only happens randomly and vaccinated travellers do not need to isolate.
"More information will be available in the coming days," a spokesperson for Toronto Pearson told CTV News Toronto on Saturday. "Not all passengers are being tested yet because the government needs more time to put the infrastructure in place."
A spokesperson for Health Canada also confirmed it will take a few more days before all travellers can be tested.
"We are ramping up our capacity quickly, and testing more and more travelers every day," a spokesperson said.
When the mandatory testing program comes into effect, the government said it can take up to three days to receive test results.
Those who are unvaccinated will continue to isolate at home for a full 14 days and take another test on day eight of their quarantine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.