Fiordland

Good question. I don't know either. Crew on freight trains and cargo marine ships and air freighters are going to be part of that. A cargo ship can easily have a crew of 30. There are lots of trains going back and forth each day. Those numbers add up quickly.

The key point is it not 80% of passengers that are exempt it is a smaller number that is quite a bit smaller that 40%. However a headline of 20-30% of travelers being exempt is not going to sell newspapers.

YZF_Elite

And of course if this reduces the amount of overall air travel it would also reduce the number of air crews that would require exemption. The way I read it, even folks who have an exemption from quarantine (far longer list than the exemption to the PCR test) will still need to comply with this rule, which will probably reduce the number of people asking for exemptions too given that some essential travel perhaps will also get curtailed with more difficult rules.

Will be interesting to see if this leads to more flight cancellations, particularly to sun destinations, or if people are willing to go this extra step to continue to travel.

tecate55

Trains are interesting because they will swap crews near the border. You won't have a Canadian crew on a train going beyond the first yard/depot in the US or vice versa. Even going that far is a touchier topic at the US/Mexico border. VIA/Amtrak changeover at the border clearance stoppage itself. But good luck convincing the trucking industry that they could do something similar.

https://www.aar.org/article/mexican-crew-interchange/

skybluesea

Your right, but your facts and logic is NOT what gets headline attention in hyper-sensitive media these days.

Big Picture - let's NOT forget how we got here.

COVID-19: 'We’re asking all Ontarians to stay at home' - Doug Ford announces province-wide lockdown
Ottawa Citizen, Dec 22, 2020

"Ford said he’s also “extremely alarmed” about reports of a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19, identified in Britain. “This is an extremely serious threat,” said Ford, emphasizing the need for border security.

If the federal government won’t do it, Ontario will test air travellers when they arrive at the airport, said Ford.

"We’re asking all Ontarians to stay at home, and only leave when absolutely necessary, such as work, groceries, prescriptions, or medical appointments.”

So Ford distracts attention to the border and away from what is really happening with community spread.

Nothing surprising here, and given how popular the Ontario Premier has become, and with minority federal gov't, obviously Ford got what he wanted, and that is:

An admission from Ottawa that the border is a problem (even though in reality it isn't).

In the end, Ottawa wins with immediate political response to the U.K. variant, and Ford wins by distracting attention and showing he can force Ottawa to react.

OF course, doesn't do much for C-19 spread, but none of this is about health, as we all know.

YVR Cockroach

FWIW, cargo ships are very sparsely and efficiently manned. I know, I travelled on one and numbers apparently don't vary that much. A huge container ship only needs just over 2 dozen crew (26 to be precise). If anything, bulk and car carriers require fewer due to one less thing to take care of, refrigerated containers a.k.a. reefers.

Crew are pretty much stuck onboard too. They weren't even allowed to disembark to fly home. Not sure if that's been since permitted.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...lors-1.5853309

expert7700

I wonder if AC is going to properly notify everyone about the new return PCR test requirement online, at check-in, and via announcements at the boarding gate before they board a flight out if Canada?

As you said there are many once a week AC flights that leave on Saturdays.....

tcook052

FYI It's customary to provide a link to any news article referenced.

TheCanuckian

There's an interesting difference here. Essential travelers could declare themselves such at the border and skip the quarantine. But it seems like now essential travelers will need to declare themselves such (and prove it) at the gate. So I wonder how that will work out. How do you prove to a gate agent in SFO or LHR that you're essential and, therefore, don't need the test? It's easy if you're under 5 years old or a member of the aircrew, but I'm not sure beyond that…

sydneyracquelle

Agreed. It’s much easier to convince a CBSA officer that you are essential after landing in Canada than a lower-level contracted foreign clerk gate agent who will err on the side of caution to protect their job and the airline from economic loss.

rankourabu

We know. But it makes the masses feel better, and is a great distraction from the real problem and the real areas of spread (community, schools, big box stores, etc)

Your assessment of how we got here is bang on.

The sun packages will catch up quick and start offering on-site tests at resorts.

Fiordland

So my number of 30 is bit over. It is closer to 26. If you have two or three ships arriving into Vancouver a day, the same up in Prince Rupert, Montreal and Halifax. Then add in a ferry to Alaska. On the Great Lakes there are probably ships that cross over. Given marine crew are listed as "Exempt" I would assume they are included in any count.

Which is why they are also listed as exempt travelers. If you toss them into the mix that is still probably a small number of boarder crossings but still adds up at the end of the year. .

I think that is the catalyst for all of this. The new strains out of the UK are what driving alarm in the federal government and causing them to act quickly now (as opposed to be before). They are probably looking to "best practice" internationally, seeing other countries effectively use these tests and trying to do the same.

Their issue is their ability to execute is not very good. Also acting at a time when vaccines are now available should provide less demanding ways of handling this. A trained nurse who administer the test, should be near the same effort.

Badenoch

The mandatory test requirement ends any consideration of my usual Florida baseball trip this year. The two week quarantine at home isn't a problem however the mandatory testing changes the dynamic. Most COVID-19 cases do not require hospitalization and can be managed at home. Were I to acquire the virus in Florida I might not even know about it and unless very seriously ill could manage to make my way home and be treated in Canada.

Should however I test positive I am facing at least an additional two weeks in Florida at my own expense plus two weeks quarantine upon my return. Should my condition deteriorate and hospitalization be required I would need to be treated in the U.S. system. The COVID insurance programs will defray some of the cost but I'll have to pay upfront, submit a claim and be accountable for any amounts over the capped limits.

The Florida county I visit has a 7 day average test positivity rate of just under 10 percent which is twice the rate in my home public health unit. I'm not prepared to take a one in ten chance I might not be able to come home.

sydneyracquelle

Or simply fly from Florida to US border city rent a car and drive home to skip the covid test.

Badenoch

The minute I cross the border I'm under quarantine requirements which do not include a detour to return a rental car so it would have to be kept for two weeks. Renting a car in Buffalo from my usual agency and dropping it off at their nearest Canadian outlet after the quarantine period would be in excess of $4,000CDN. Nor could I add an extra driver to the rental because they would have to be there at the counter when I rented and present a valid driver's license.

sydneyracquelle

Not true. I always return the rental car and uber home with a mask to quarantine. Why would you keep the car for 2 weeks? Makes no sense you could fly or drive from Toronto to Vancouver but not return a rental car. You are allowed to proceed to your final destination and get gas and food and lodging. Otherwise everyone would have to quarantine at the port of entry. People land at YYZ and have to get home somehow. They only start calling you on Day 4 for this reason.