The Lev

This is all about responding to the political posturing of Doug Ford and Francois Legault. The Federal Liberals were put in a politically impossible position if they didn't respond to this idiotic demand. Let's think this through the implications of this:

• As pointed out above, only 2% of COVID cases are imported from abroad. A negative test 72 hours before departure tells us that you probably didn't have active COVID 3 days before departure but it doesn't mean you didn't catch it in your ensuing three days or that you weren't too early for it to be picked up by the test. the typical Canadian on a one-week holiday who catches COVID on day 1 of their holiday and gets tested on day 4 will not yet test positive. The implication is that the majority of Canadians who catch COVID while abroad will "pass" this test and still bring it home with them. We might shave half a percent off our total COVID numbers.
• Despite government exhortation and legal requirements, people who test negative for COVID are far more likely to "cheat" on the 14-day quarantine since they "know" they are healthy. This will result in more COVID cases than the rule will prevent.
• This requirement will put a significant strain on healthcare systems in under-developed countries who will now have to devote scarce medical resources and tests to testing Canadian tourists rather than testing their own population. Canada will contribute to the further spread of COVID in those countries in the name of protecting itself.
• In order to get tested, Canadian abroad will have to go to clinics to get tested. By doing so, they are exposing themselves to needless risk of COVID and other infections (after all most people go to clinics because they are sick).
• The requirement for PCR testing is needlessly restrictive. Canada has a love affair with PCR and while it is good, it is expensive, the results take time and it is difficult to get in some locations. A couple of months ago, Ontario was taking 5 days to provide the results of a PCR test. Ontario is almost certainly not unique in the world. People will likely try to get their test done as far in advance as possible. a PCR test done 72 hours prior to arrival is probably going to pick up fewer COVID people than a slightly less accurate antigen test taken at an airport just prior to departure (or better yet upon arrival).
• Other countries may choose to retaliate and impose the same requirement on people returning from Canada. This would further strain our already taxed testing system.
• The majority of travellers will almost certainly remain exempt from this requirement. Why a trucker travelling from Mexico through the US to Canada is assumed to be clean while someone who travels abroad, even to a country with lower COVID prevalence than Canada is presumed to need a test is not exactly "following science" as our government so proudly proclaims.

Expensive, inconvenient window dressing that will make more people sick. Well done Canada!