Finkface

I think they granted you the exemption because you (politely) persisted to the point where they just let you go rather than deal with it. If you read the Order, normal business travel most definitely does not qualify as essential. Essential means to provide (or will provide upon entry) an essential service such as a health care worker, flight crew etc, not to feed your family. The service must be essential enough to Canada (not essential to you) to warrant taking the risk of not making you quarantine, not just because you need to go on a business trip. And I think we all know that.

https://orders-in-council.canada.ca/...=39482&lang=en

Exception — requirement to quarantine

6 The requirements referred to in paragraph 3(1)(a) and subsection 4(2) do not apply to

(a) a crew member as defined in subsection 101.01(1) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations or a person who enters Canada only to become such a crew member;

(b) a member of a crew as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations or a person who enters Canada only to become such a crew member;

(c) a person who enters Canada at the invitation of the Minister of Health for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 response;

(d) a member of the Canadian Forces or a visiting force as defined in section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act;

(e) a person or any person in a class of persons whom the Chief Public Health Officer determines will provide an essential service;

(f) a person or any person in a class of persons whose presence in Canada is determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to be in the national interest, as long as the person complies with any conditions imposed on them by the relevant Minister to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19;

(g) a person permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations;

(h) a person who enters Canada for the purpose of providing medical care, transporting essential medical equipment, supplies or means of treatment, or delivering, maintaining or repairing medically-necessary equipment or devices, as long as they do not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada;

(i) a person who enters Canada for the purpose of receiving essential medical services or treatments, other than services or treatments related to COVID-19;

(j) a person permitted to work in Canada as a student in a health field under paragraph 186(p) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, as long as they do not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada;

(k) a licensed health care professional with proof of employment in Canada, as long as they do not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the licensed professional enters Canada;

(l) a person, including a captain, deckhand, observer, inspector, scientist and any other person supporting commercial or research fishing-related activities, who enters Canada aboard a Canadian fishing vessel or a foreign fishing vessel as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, for the purpose of carrying out fishing or fishing-related activities, including offloading of fish, repairs, provisioning the vessel and exchange of crew;

Siempre Viajando

"And I think we all know that." Wrong, we don't. Like so much in life, this is not as black and white as you might think.

With regard to item (e) above, I spoke with a knowledgeable Health Canada representative before I took the overseas assignment. I asked her to define "essential service" and specifically to explain to me to whom the service needed to be "essential" in order for the exemption to apply. She told me that the service should be essential to my client / employer, and NOT to the government of Canada. That's the key point here. And if you take the time to think about it, you'll realize that it's the right approach.

There's an interesting point with respect to business travel. The Canadian government has to toe a fine line. On one hand, if business travel is so unnecessary as you suggest, then why doesn't the government simply come out and put a blanket quarantine order on all business travelers as they have done for leisure travelers? Well, they can't do that, of course, because some business travel is necessary. On the other hand, they don't want to open the floodgates. So, they have tried to define the cases where business travelers are exempt from quarantine requirements, without actually coming out and saying that all business travelers are exempt. And as I said in my previous post, I think they've done it rather well.

You may not agree that I should be exempt from the quarantine requirement, but why should I care what you think? I trust that Health Canada has thought this through and that they have adequately communicated with CBSA whose officers are responsible for making on-the-ground decisions with respect to exemptions. Again, I'm not gaming the system, and believe me (because you weren't there to witness the conversation I had with the CBSA officer) they didn't just "let me go rather than deal with it". The CBSA officer let me make my case, he asked me several questions and, based on guidance from Health Canada and based on his judgement about the extent to which I take C19-related risks seriously, he granted me the exemption.

Since returning I have been tested (PCR), and it came back negative. Before I leave the country I will test again, and before I return to Canada I will test once more. I don't pose a significant threat to the health of my family and other Canadians, including my parents who are in their mid 80s. The risks associated with C19 are manageable.

lcohen999

I was hoping to find some clarification from this group on Canadians going and coming back into Canada for work related reasons.

I do work in an industry that is deemed essential (at least stateside) in IT. I may need to go down to visit some customers but have obviously have been dragging my feet on the subject.

It is my understanding that being in IT and working for an essential business should be enough to skip the 14 day quarantine upon return. (for anyone to say anything, I would take it upon myself to get a COVID test immediately upon returning). I am just wondering how it would all work and what is required.

The act is clear as mud and I am just trying to plan for that eventuality

Siempre Viajando

If you look back over previous posts including some by me, you'll see some discussion on what it takes for a business traveler to obtain an exemption to the general requirement for a 14-day quarantine on return to Canada. As you note, in practical terms the Act is "clear as mud" and this is likely because it is not possible to foresee all possible justifications for an exemption.

As a business traveler returning to Canada your most likely avenue to avoid quarantine is to make the case that you are providing "essential services". The key here is that the services in question should be essential to your employer's business (I verified that with Health Canada before I accepted an assignment that requires me to travel outside of Canada every month). Therefore, your first step should be to obtain a letter from your company's HR department confirming that the work you carry out is essential to their business.

In addition, I think you should be tested as frequently as possible for C19 (PCR, the nasal swab test) including before you return to Canada, if that is possible. Have your test certificates with you when you re-enter Canada.

And should be careful at the kiosk in the arrivals area of the airport NOT to acknowledge that you will be quarantined for two weeks, in order to support your claim for an exemption.

Once you've done all this, it's up to the CBSA officer admitting you into the country to make the call. And it's a crap shoot (so far, I'm 50/50 in terms of obtaining the exemption). You can certainly help yourself by keeping cool and being prepared to demonstrate why you don't pose an unacceptable risk to public health if you're not quarantined. Are you going to head straight out to a party with friends in a bar upon your return? Probably not. So make it clear that you take C19 seriously and that you are doing everything possible to mitigate your risk of being infected and to protect others from you in the event you are infected.

I think the Canadian government recognizes that with or without C19, life goes on and some international business travel is necessary. In your case, if you're visiting clients outside the country, your travel is doubly necessary in order to help Canada weather the economic storm that is coming.

Good luck!

lcohen999

Thank you for that. I saw your post but was wondering if things are a little different as a Canadian returning, rather than someone from a different nationality. That was the key thing I was looking at

If I go stateside for a day for a meeting I can't have over the phone, hard to get a swab/result the same day heading home and given the delay in testing sometimes in the states, that could make for an interesting time.

LondonElite

So, in other words, anybody can do anything, right? The act is completely toothless.

rankourabu

Its one person bending the rules in their favour. Doesnt mean everyone can get away with it (hopefully)

Siempre Viajando

No, the Act is not toothless. Just because one's employer provides a letter stating that an employee's travel is essential to their business does not mean that the employee's claim for an exemption to the quarantine requirement will be granted. This is up to the CBSA officer who admits the employee to Canada and the decision is entirely discretionary. In my case, I was granted the exemption but only after being grilled about what I was doing outside of Canada, why this work meets the "essential" condition, what precautions I was taking to prevent the spread of COVID19 (either to me, or from me to others) and what I would be doing during the following two weeks that I could not do were I quarantined. Basically, the officer assured himself that I was not actually a leisure traveler who had faked the employer's letter and that I am acting responsibly with respect to preventing the spread of C19, both in Canada and when I am traveling outside the country. In his view, I do not represent a threat to the health of other Canadians simply by virtue of having traveled outside the country and having returned home. Indeed, since I last returned I have been tested in Toronto for C19 and the results came back negative.

I believe that Canada's approach is sound. Of course, it will need to be adjusted to reflect changing circumstances. For instance, France and other EU countries have now lifted their quarantine requirements on Canadians traveling there, but Canada has not reciprocated; so French citizens traveling to Canada and Canadians returning from France who cannot claim an exemption will be required to self-isolate for two weeks on entering Canada. Perhaps it is time for Canada to end the blanket quarantine requirement for travelers from France; certainly the French believe that we should. But I'm sure there are many Canadians who would prefer to leave the quarantine requirement in place for the time being, for all arriving international travelers. After all, making the requirement selective is something of a slippery slope.

Stay tuned!

Siempre Viajando

If you're referring to me, I need to clarify (again!) that I am not "bending the rules". I am acting responsibly within a framework established by the Canadian government for managing C19 risks associated with international travelers arriving to Canada. Feel free to complain that the system is too lax and feel free to make the case that all international travel into Canada should be banned; but please stop accusing me of working around the system because that is not what I'm doing.

Although I am close to being classified as "vulnerable" just by virtue of my age, I don't consider myself to be especially at risk of contracting the virus. Based on many years of international travel and being exposed to who-knows-what, I seem to be almost impervious to bacterial and viral infections; basically, I almost never get sick. But that doesn't mean that I take C19 lightly. My wife is pre-diabetic and contracts bacterial and viral infections more easily than I do. She's the one I worry about, in addition to my parents who are in their mid-80s and not in great health. There's a lot at stake for me even if I don't feel particularly at risk. That's why I take the necessary precautions when traveling and when at home. I am NOT one of those right-wing nuts who refuses to wear a mask just to make a point.

seawolf

I don't think rules are being bent. The essential "National Interest" list is fairly large.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration....html#national
links to this
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/n...sf-sfe-en.aspx

Even "Restaurant employees necessary to support take-out and food delivery operations" is on the essential list.

Smiley90

Just to confirm - turnstile-ing does NOT mandate quarantine, correct?

Finkface

Right, but the key is essential to Canada. They could argue they are providing an essential service to Canadians. Not essential to the person or their employer. Not merely because it is essential because one has to earn money to support their family. If that is the criteria, we are all essential workers.

Siempre Viajando

The devil is always in the details: please provide a clear, unambiguous definition of "essential to Canada". The Canadian government has, in effect, done just that, even if it isn't as clear and unambiguous as some of us think it should/could be. Point is, it's not as easy as you might think it is.

So if you've got a better definition, one that can be pragmatically applied to the myriad of cases that will arise at Canada's entry points, please provide it. I'm all ears!

seawolf

Essential to operation of one's business is not necessarily national interest. The question that should be considered is whether your position and/or your employer is providing essential services..

Siempre Viajando

Agree. This goes without saying, and the Canadian government has instituted a framework for addressing exactly that question. And under that framework I obtained an exemption to the two-week quarantine requirement. And of course I'm not the only Canadian who qualifies for the exemption.

But I have not gamed the system. That's the key point that I've been trying to express.