By Roger Harris - 9 Feb 2021
The Minister of Transport has recently announced a one-year extension of the current prohibition of yachting in Canadian Arctic waters: Government of Canada announces one-year ban for pleasure craft and cruise vessels.
The text of the new Interim Order has not yet been published, but will presumably track the wording of the existing Order that expires February 28th.
Related news item about Kiwi Roa's successful West-East transit last year: Nunatsiaq News: "No 'right to innocent passage' through NW Passage for NZ sailor". To the best of my knowledge, no fine has been issued regarding that voyage.
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By simoncurrin - 9 Feb 2021
Roger,
Do you have any clue what restrictions are likely to be in place for the Canadian Maritimes this summer? I gather it’s going to be difficult to enter Canada by plane with only 4 international airports and a mandatory hotel based quarantine. We were hoping to get back to our boat in Nova Scotia in June but the likelihood of that happening seems remote.
Simon
+x
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By Roger Harris - 10 Feb 2021
Hello Simon,
Much as I would like to be positive, the reality is that controls in Canada currently seem to be tightening rather than easing.
New restrictions were recently imposed on international entry to Canada. In addition to the new mandatory hotel quarantine you mentioned (which our PM has said will cost "more than C$2,000"), travelers testing negative for COVID-19 then need to serve some further quarantine period "at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement”. And then there is the additional problem that Halifax is not one of the four authorized airports: so to enter Nova Scotia you would need to serve a second quarantine period (see "Nova Scotia: travel from outside Atlantic Canada"). That's a lot of time and expense, adding up to a real tourism deterrent (which is largely the point).
The larger problem is that until further notice, most foreign nationals cannot travel to Canada, even if they have a valid visitor visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA).
This is very much a fluid situation, and for all anyone knows the above restrictions will no longer apply by June. That said, I agree that such an outcome looks remote. Canada's vaccination process is proceeding very slowly, and until it is eventually completed the default position seems to be 'close everything down'.
Best wishes, Roger
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By Roger Harris - 10 Feb 2021
Sorry, using hot links caused a couple of sentences to be truncated. Here is what I meant to say:
(1) "The larger problem is that until further notice, most foreign nationals cannot travel to Canada, even if they have a valid visitor visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA)."
(2) "Canada's vaccination process is proceeding very slowly"
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By simoncurrin - 10 Feb 2021
Thanks Roger That’s very helpful. I hadn’t grasped the need for a separate Nova Scotia quarantine.
Simon
+xSorry, using hot links caused a couple of sentences to be truncated. Here is what I meant to say: (1) "The larger problem is that until further notice, most foreign nationals cannot travel to Canada, even if they have a valid visitor visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA)." (2) "Canada's vaccination process is proceeding very slowly"
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By Roger Harris - 10 Feb 2021
Yes, the Atlantic provinces have enacted de facto border controls / quarantine requirements. Last summer that was sufficient to stop me from travelling to Nova Scotia, where I was scheduled to teach two RYA courses.
The good news is that the 'Atlantic Bubble' has a low incidence of COVID-19, and people inside it are able to lead relatively normal lives. It is probably the nearest thing to New Zealand as one can find in the Americas. Friends who base their yacht down East (usually in Newfoundland, more recently in Cape Breton Island) did the quarantine, enjoyed two months of cruising, and did not return to Ontario until November.
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