'It's great news': Tourism, business groups in US applaud changes to COVID test requirements
Canadians returning to the country from a short trip abroad soon won't have to provide a negative molecular test to get across the border, CTV News has confirmed.
Though the timing for the change has not been finalized, it will mean fully-vaccinated Canadian travellers will no longer need to provide a molecular test -- the most common from is a PCR test -- when returning if their trip was less than 72 hours long.
It will make it easier and less costly for Canadians who want to take a short shopping or ski trip down south, tourism groups say.
"I think we're very excited about it. Certainly it's revenue coming in, but we're also just excited to see everyone," said Gayle Fisher with the Central Montana Tourism Region.
"We have good friends who cross the border and the cost has been pretty prohibitive with the current regulations," she said.
The requirement to present a negative test will still be in effect for trips that are longer than 72 hours. The tests can cost anywhere between $150 and $300 each.
"We certainly have heard from people that it has prevented them from travelling to Whitefish for a short trip," said Brian Schott with Explore Whitefish.
"I think [the changes] are great news," he said.
'POSITIVE STEP'
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has been pressuring the Canadian Government to make changes to the testing requirements for people crossing the border.
"It's a positive step, it's a step in the right direction. But it's just one step," said Perrin Beatty, the CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The requirement to have an expensive COVID test to come into Canada for a short trip is an "absurdity," Beatty said. He'd now like to see fully-vaccinated Americans be able to come for short trips without needing a PCR test as well, to help businesses on the Canadian side of the border that are experiencing fewer tourists.
If you have four people, it's costing about $800 Canadian (for tests). You have people say 'this is crazy, there's no way we're going to do this'," Beatty said.
"That's one of the reasons why when our government opened up the border in August, we didn't see the increase in tourism from the United States we would have liked to have seen."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.