End PCR Testing Requirements

[Army Guy]

On 11/8/2021 at 6:08 PM, Zeitgeist said:

So that’s how we encourage domestic tourism, by making foreign travel unaffordable?   How so very Soviet.  

The same thing we do with Oil and gas, or tobacco, liquor, we tax the shit out of it , hoping you will quit....

[Zeitgeist]

Losing the ability to travel is another marker of the drop in living standards.  The American Dream is fading fast.  

[Boges]

11 hours ago, Army Guy said:

It is on the travelers expense to get tested. 

Currently, recreational travellers entering Canada must show proof of a negative molecular test — such as a PCR test —taken within 72 hours of their departing flight or planned arrival at the border. But those tests can be expensive, running up to $300, and can take up to 24 hours — or longer — for travellers to get their results.

It's particularly prohibitive for families, as the molecular tests are required for everyone over the age of five. That means for a family of four, it can add $1,000 to the cost of a trip.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/covid-19-travellers-pcr-antigen-test-1.6238235

They cost $150+ retail, on the rec travellers dime. But we live in a world where you have to get tested if you have a cold. 

I just don't buy that these tests cost that much. And if they government is mandating them to enter the country, they should regulate how much people have to pay for them. 

[myata]

An inconvenient elephant in the room is of course the exceptions that enter the country daily without any testing. How many, compared to the number of travelers would anyone even care to ask? My guess would be in the order 10:1 or higher, just right for the useless but pretentious show like mask in the washroom. But instead we know (and sometimes, many times over) every single case of unvaccinated infection!

[Army Guy]

10 hours ago, Boges said:

They cost $150+ retail, on the rec travellers dime. But we live in a world where you have to get tested if you have a cold. 

I just don't buy that these tests cost that much. And if they government is mandating them to enter the country, they should regulate how much people have to pay for them. 

Do you really think the government is in a position to regulate anything covid related, it does not produced any vaccines, nor tests, it just got into the business of producing PPE. Government contracts are a license to steal and when you havbe them over a barrel like Vaccines you pay what ever they ask for... Look at the cost of staying in a covid hotel...

In the US the same test cost 20 US dollars, go figure. That was in the link i provided. 

[Zeitgeist]

I know that sometimes I make strong statements for effect, but what I'm about to say is important and true.  Let's be honest, many of the posters on here are retired or not working for whatever reason.  I'm not in that boat.  Almost everyone who is employed by a company or is a government worker, including educators and health care workers, is essentially banned from international travel because, if you are forced to quarantine upon return from your trip due to a positive Covid-19 test, and the quarantine period extends beyond your designated "time off" from work, you will be put on an unpaid leave for the quarantine period and subject to disciplinary action.  How do you know whether or not you have Covid-19?  Only from the test results, unless you're symptomatic.  Americans don't face this disincentive from travel.  This punishment of having to pay for a Covid test and the threat of losing pay/employment due to a positive result is a huge disincentive to international travel for Canadians.  Canadians don't face this disincentive to traveling between provinces or territories.  Why must Canadians traveling to and from Michigan or New York rather than Quebec or B.C. be treated like they're biohazards deserving of crippling fees and potential job termination?  When so many eligible Canadians are vaccinated, after having made so many personal and financial sacrifices to obey public health mandates, this is the reward they get?  My government disgusts me more and more each day. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Zeitgeist

[OftenWrong]

4 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

Why must Canadians traveling to and fro

 

I heard people who lose their jobs and are not eligible for EI. Doesn't matter how long you paid in.

But I for one don't like the idea of threatening to take people's livelihoods away, and has nothing to do with my opinion on getting the vaccine. These callous government-loving bastardos are fine with literally putting people in the gutter. Including families.

Meanwhile cover your eyes while we hand out the dole over there. CERB is making the mafia rich. It's ok. Organized crime was fully engaged by government when this all started.

It's a necessity.

[Queenmandy85]

17 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

This punishment of having to pay for a Covid test and the threat of losing pay/employment due to a positive result is a huge disincentive to international travel for Canadians.  Canadians don't face this disincentive to traveling between provinces or territories.  Why must Canadians traveling to and from Michigan or New York rather than Quebec or B.C. be treated like they're biohazards deserving of crippling fees and potential job termination?

Why would you want to give your treasure to foreigners rather than travel in Canada? We have so much to do in Canada. 

 

On 11/14/2021 at 10:03 PM, Zeitgeist said:

The American Dream is fading fast.  

You seem to be confused. This is Canada. What is so great about the "American dream" or the Bulgarian dream or the Botswana dream. I'm assured that Botswana is a beautiful country, and the USA is nice, but none of them hold a candle to Canada. 

[Zeitgeist]

On 11/16/2021 at 1:49 PM, Queenmandy85 said:

Why would you want to give your treasure to foreigners rather than travel in Canada? We have so much to do in Canada. 

 

You seem to be confused. This is Canada. What is so great about the "American dream" or the Bulgarian dream or the Botswana dream. I'm assured that Botswana is a beautiful country, and the USA is nice, but none of them hold a candle to Canada. 

If Canada buys some Caribbean islands I might agree with you.  There was talk of Canada buying Turks and Caicos years ago but it didn’t happen.  Our winter is too long.  I also don’t believe people should be restricted to being in one country.  Canada isn’t supposed to be a communist closed society.   We really aren’t free.  

[Queenmandy85]

I'm sorry but IIRC, the Turks and Caicos doesn't have a single ski hill. The US may have Sun Valley and Vale but even they pale compared to Kimberley's North Star, Rossland's Red Mountain, or Jasper's Marmot Basin. The only drawback is Canada's winters are too short. I am not saying people shouldn't be allowed to leave, I just cannot fathom why anyone would deprive themselves of the best hills in the world.

[myata]

7 minutes ago, Queenmandy85 said:

the best hills in the world.

As so much in this country, skiing it's overhyped, sub quality and grossly overpriced. In Europe one can ski 5 (five) different skiing areas in three different countries for less than Tremblant in Eastern Canada. Actually for about the same price as a local hill with 3 lifts and 500 m max run. And I'm not even mentioning food that alone is the reason to visit some chalets, unlike stale nuggets with onion rings.

As with forestry, fish, minerals the overriding priority here seems to be to make The Buck today, as much of it as can be stuffed and consumed and tomorrow is supposed to take care of itself, anyhow.

[Queenmandy85]

Day tickets at: Kimberley (rated by Nancy Greene Raines as the best in the world) $99 - $114

                         Marmot Baisin $115

                         Red $124.

Who has time to go into a chalet for lunch. Pack a lunch and eat on the chair lift. There are only about 7 hours of skiing a day. Don't waste them inside. Although Kimberley also has night skiing so you can get in an extra few runs.

When you factor in the cost to go all the way to Colorado, you can drive to the Kootenays for the world's best. 

And you don't need a PCR test.

Edited November 18, 2021 by Queenmandy85

[myata]

14 hours ago, Queenmandy85 said:

Day tickets at: Kimberley (rated by Nancy Greene Raines as the best in the world) $99 - $114

                         Marmot Baisin $115

                         Red $124.

Not even close. I'll take my chances in France, Switzerland, Italy etc not to mention Slovenia, Slovakia and Montenegro. There will be more than enough left for a great tasting lunch in a summit chalet with great local beer.

Just look at this: Chamonix, 16 skiing areas in France, Italy, Switzerland $40. As with food, coffee, beer, bread and pastry and many other things they just don't have the same meaning in North America.

Sure and PCR too, even three if they can stuff them up their exspert ...ses.

Edited November 18, 2021 by myata

[Zeitgeist]

Our government has contempt for its citizens.  They won’t remove the PCR test requirements for short-term visits until after the US Thanksgiving.  After all, our government is all about keeping people from what they want.  Don’t think for a second they would have lifted any of the PCR requirements without public pressure.   These posts are important.

[dialamah]

1 hour ago, Zeitgeist said:

Our government has contempt for its citizens.  They won’t remove the PCR test requirements for short-term visits until after the US Thanksgiving.  After all, our government is all about keeping people from what they want.  Don’t think for a second they would have lifted any of the PCR requirements without public pressure.   These posts are important.

Didn't you just say that 'restrictions were permanent"?  Yet, here you are ... complaining about a restriction that is going to be removed, albeit not on your timetable.  What a snowflake!

[Zeitgeist]

1 hour ago, dialamah said:

Didn't you just say that 'restrictions were permanent"?  Yet, here you are ... complaining about a restriction that is going to be removed, albeit not on your timetable.  What a snowflake!

You’re the snowflake for making excuses for government overreach 

[myata]

16 hours ago, dialamah said:

Yet, here you are ... complaining about a restriction that is going to be removed

This is such a dumb statement but what can you expect from "travel from Wuhan" exsperts? The average incubation period for Covid is 5 days, and for Delta variant, 4 days. A second grader will readily convert it to 96 hours. And it means that any positive test after a shorter trip would show the infection that already happened in Canada before the trip. Kudos, you're such a genius!

So the restriction, once the borders were open, was for nothing like any number of other useless and at times, plain ridiculous regulations. It had nothing to do with controlling the disease (as was in the job description some time ago but who cares now) and everything with bureaucrats managing our lives, where we should or couldn't go, because only they know it best. After a century and a half or unrestricted, runaway bureaucratic evolution, did you expect anything different?

[dialamah]

1 hour ago, myata said:

This is such a dumb statement but what can you expect from "travel from Wuhan" exsperts?

Myopia in action.

[WestCanMan]

2 hours ago, myata said:

This is such a dumb statement but what can you expect from "travel from Wuhan" exsperts? The average incubation period for Covid is 5 days, and for Delta variant, 4 days. A second grader will readily convert it to 96 hours. 

But, but, but.... the vaccine works, dammit! It's impossible for the dbl-vaxxed to carry covid! And even if they did carry it, they can't get sick with it, so what's the harm? Are we worried about killing the mouth-breathers who didn't get the vaccine yet? You do know that they're all just white supremacist terrorists anyways, right? Even the black ones: we call them "Uncle Toms" because we're anti-racism.

/leftbabble 

[WestCanMan]

18 hours ago, dialamah said:

Didn't you just say that 'restrictions were permanent"? 

I didn't see that. Where did you see it? I saw "the costs and restrictions continue indefinitely", and that was actually 100% the case when the OP was written.

If you read the article that he cited, it was about the fact that Chrystia Freeland wouldn't give a timeline for removing the test. FYI that means that it was going to go on for an unspecified period of time - aka 'indefinitely'.

Unless I missed another quote of his somewhere else, you just tried to correct him but you were actually wrong in doing so.

Quote

Yet, here you are ... complaining about a restriction that is going to be removed, albeit not on your timetable.  What a snowflake!

Here you are, pretending to be a social justice warrior, yet you're advocating for travel restrictions based upon one's economic status. That's some Nancy-Pelosi level social justice speak right there: "Make all of the peons equal, but in a much lower class."

[WestCanMan]

On 11/15/2021 at 5:09 PM, Zeitgeist said:

 if you are forced to quarantine upon return from your trip due to a positive Covid-19 test,

Are the tests even accurate now? 

I don't follow it that closely because I don't really care, but I was under the impression that false positives were not uncommon. 

[myata]

In the countries with effective management of a good quality, not "crumbling" (according to exsperts who consumed countless public billions in "fixing" it) public healthcare system, Covid fatalities are just over 1 per a thousand of cases (the numbers were posted). This is comparable to the risk of a traffic accident and would be interesting to compare to the risk of a serious flu complication per reported cases (milder cases are less likely to be reported in both instances).

So maybe the problem is not, or no longer is in what restrictions and for how long should be placed on the society; but in effective, intelligent and efficient management of the disease, not the population? Of course this question is for a rational society, and health authoritarians don't need to worry; for them all is working fine as things are, including out of all bounds in a 30K median income society, multi-hundred $$$ compensations and benefits. The vector is so very wrong, and both the society and the elites who benefit from it are very anxious to not notice anything. So will it get any better?

Edited November 20, 2021 by myata

[Zeitgeist]

We’ll probably never be able to prove it, but I think the pandemic is man made and directed by international central planning.  At any sign of a return to reasonable safety measures and freedoms, a new scare emerges.  Omicron may pose a minor risk with mild symptoms, but it provides a justification for costly travel barriers.

Families can’t afford all this testing.  Biden and Trudeau don’t care.  They’re willing to destroy their economies and mental health to pander to health and climate extremism.

https://apple.news/AYBMqidPJTu2pwVqQoldcWQ

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Zeitgeist

[myata]

Honestly I doubt it's some global conspiracy, more like a stock market but of opportunities. An opportunity (to return to, sort of the old normal) unquestioned and unobstructed by any checks, controls or balances rule, "for as long as necessary", has presented itself, like a roll of a dice at a casino table. Scared populace long out of habit of critical questioning thought nothing of it hoping for a quick panacea to get back to the blissful brainless mode of existence asap (actually here's a theory: have you seen kids cartoons in while? Try it - there's nothing sane about some / most of it, everybody shouts like crazy whoever louder, always running somewhere like with hair on fire. Fun sure, but reminds of something? Where's is a place for calm and rational assessment of the situation when run,run,run and shout, shout!).

And then someone somewhere saw something good in it. For who, good? Will it be good for everyone one, two, three decades on? Who is asking, and who's listening?

[Zeitgeist]

I think it’s all planned.