“We know that Pearson and Montreal have been ranked number one and number two of worst airports in the world. That is an international embarrassment.,”
'ArriveCAN is actually helping process arrivals much faster and helping reduce congestion.' Omar Alghabra told the Commons transportation committee
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OTTAWA – Transport Minister Omar Alghabra defended the government’s ArriveCAN app Friday, saying despite the claims of customs officers, airlines, airports and border communities it is not a hindrance to travel.
“There is no evidence whatsoever that ArriveCAN is causing any problems,” he told MPs at the commons transport committee.
He said, while there are still problems, air travel is improving and becoming more reliable. He said, by collecting vaccine information in advance, ArriveCAN speeds up the process???
In the last few weeks, representatives from the Buffalo and Fort Erie Bridge Authority and an association representing Duty-Free stores called on the government to scrap ArriveCAN saying it was reducing traffic and increasing wait times.
Mark Webber, president of the Customs and Immigrations union, testified to MPs in June and said the app forced his members to become IT consultants to help people fill out the app.
“Every Border Officer working on the frontline will tell you that the implementation of the ArriveCan application has seen processing times skyrocket” he said at the time.
Airlines and airports across the country have also called for the app to be scrapped.
Bureaucrats speaking after Alghabra also defended the app, including the Canada Border Services Agency who said it speeds up processing. Failing to use the app can come with a heavy fine for travellers.