Dad's Travel Back To Cana-Duh

The Canadian government when it comes to dealing with travelers in the age of Covid is just plain stupid.

The border is, of course, still closed to non-essential travelers, vaccinated or not. Which is stupid.

However, let's talk about Canadians returning to Canada.

My dad has returned to Canada,  He was fully vaccinated here in the US when he went there in March as it was taking forever for him to get an appointment to get a vaccine there.  His brothers of similar age have still not received their second shots and may get them in July.

So he's vaccinated but he still had to get a PCR test 72 hours before returning to Canada.  And he had to sign up for ArriveCan.

The Canadian government information technology people who designed ArriveCan seem to be a bunch of idiots. 

The ArriveCan system, as it turns out, is not compatible with Google Chrome.

But it doesn't tell you that.  

Instead it gives you an error when you create a password stating the password doesn't meet their requirements even when it does, and doesn't let you proceed but instead states it sent you a verification email, which it does not do.

Try to get a 77-year old to diagnose that problem and know why it is not working.  Good luck.

He then let me know, and I looked it over and then figured it out that it was probably a browser problem.    I then used Safari instead and got it working, setup his password, and got the verification email.

Once we figured that out it was on to the rest of the form.  You have to input how you're traveling, your travel documents and when you will arrive and since he's crossing the border by car, its always hard to know exactly when you'll cross.

There is no provision to indicate you're vaccinated, nor any exemption for being so.

But he gets a nice printout he can show the border services.

So, my dad when he gets home has to quarantine alone for 14 days which makes absolutely no sense considering he's fully vaccinated.  He can't see anyone, nor leave his condo under penalty of law for 14 days. It's stupid and cruel both.

The best part, after being driven across the border and dropped off in Windsor, he was on a Train to Toronto which ArriveCan specifically stated he could do to travel back to his condo.  That kinda gets rid of the whole concept of a quarantine considering he would be exposed and exposing his vaccinated self to any train-travelers in his compartment.

We couldn't drive him as neither of us is considered essential, but had to have a paid driver deliver him across the border. 

So at the border he handed in his ArriveCan receipt, showed his ID and his negative Covid Test within the last 72 hours.  They then had him get tested again right there which again is stupid as he's vaccinated.

Then he was allowed to proceed to the train, got on the train, with others on board no less and got to Union station in Toronto, got picked up there and went home, where he is now stuck for a total of 14 days alone with no direct human contact.

Like I said, it's stupid and cruel both, but it lets the government proclaim they're doing something.  

Meanwhile, we can't visit Natasha's mom on Canada as we don't have somewhere to stay for 14 days away from anyone over 68 years old even though we're both vaccinated. First both my dad and her mom are over that age and two, spending 14 days stuck somewhere in a room in Canada unable to leave before seeing them is kinda useless and not practicable at all.  

This stupid border closing especially when Covid is well and truly already out among the population in Canada, and ignoring the fact that vaccinated people are definitely fine to travel farce and don;t need this goofy quarantine really needs to end.