By Tom Yun, CTVNews.ca Editor

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Toronto, Canada (TVC network) — The federal government has announced that it will suspend mandatory random COVID-19 testing at all Canadian airports for vaccinated travelers starting June 11.

Between June 11 and June 30, random testing at Canadian airports will be “temporarily suspended,” although unvaccinated travelers will continue to be tested on the spot. Beginning July 1, all testing, including for unvaccinated travellers, will be conducted offsite.

“The Government of Canada recognizes the impact that long wait times at some Canadian airports have on travellers. We continue to work with airports, airlines, baggage handlers and other partners to implement solutions to reduce delays as we approach the peak summer season,” Transport Canada said in a statement Friday.

This comes after growing pressure from the travel and aviation industry calling on the federal government to ease COVID-19 restrictions amid long lines and delays at airports, especially the airport. Toronto Pearson International.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which operates Pearson Airport, had urged the federal government to temporarily suspend on-site testing at airports as it expects international passenger numbers to increase by 50% to as the summer travel season intensifies.

“It’s more than Toronto Pearson; it’s about global perceptions of our country and the risk that Canada will lose billions of dollars from tourism and business if travelers decide coming to Canada this summer just isn’t worth it,” said the CEO. of the GTAA, Deborah Flint, in a statement Thursday. airport delays.

The federal government had previously exempted international travelers with a connecting flight from being passed over for random testing. Transport Canada says it has also hired 865 CATSA screening officers since April.

Other measures, such as COVID-19 vaccination mandates and mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, remain in place. The federal government says the Public Health Agency of Canada is deploying additional staff to airports to verify ArriveCAN submissions and help travelers use the app.

During a virtual press conference on Friday morning, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, called the random traveler test an “early warning system” designed to detect incoming variants.

“We do a random sample to select people from different parts of the world and are able to detect variants of concern,” Tam said. TRAVEL INDUSTRY APPLAUSES TRAVEL

The travel and aviation industries hail the decision to suspend random testing at airports, calling it a step in the right direction.

On Twitter, the Canadian Airports Council called the decision a “huge step forward for travelers and Canada’s tourism industry,” while the National Airlines Council of Canada said it was ” a positive step, rooted in science and evidence, that will improve conditions at Canada’s airports. and reduce complexity for travellers.

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada also tweeted that it was “delighted to hear the news today.”

“We hope this becomes permanent and barriers continue to be removed for travel to Canada,” the associate tweeted on Friday.

However, the Conservatives say the suspension of random testing does not go far enough and have called on the Liberals to lift all remaining COVID-19 travel measures, including vaccination mandates. Conservative transport critic Melissa Lantsman called the decision to suspend random testing only to bring it back offsite in July as an “ill-considered reaction” to mounting pressure to lift restrictions.

“You cannot travel to this country if you are not vaccinated. You always resume testing on July 1. These are not measures. These are half measures. They are a reaction from the United States, and the government is rightly under pressure from Canadians because these lines at Pearson are an abdication of responsibility on the part of this federal government,” Lantsman told CTV’s Power and Politics on Friday.

Even within the Liberal caucus, there have been disagreements over the continuation of COVID-19 vaccination mandates for air and rail travelers as well as foreign tourists entering Canada. Northern Ontario Liberal MP Marc Serré told reporters on Parliament Hill Friday that he thought it was “probably time to move on.”

“These mandates were important. There is a high vaccination rate. Canadians are safe. There are far fewer people who have died here per capita than in many other countries. So the warrants worked. Mandates are important, but now it’s probably time to move on,” he said.

Meanwhile, NDP transportation critic Taylor Bachrach says the federal government needs to be more transparent when it comes to making decisions on public health measures and says the Liberals should have be better prepared for the increased demand for air travel.

“We need the government to provide the evidence. They have to explain the public health advice they get from Dr Tam, and they haven’t and people are getting more and more frustrated because they see other jurisdictions that don’t have the same measures public health,” he told CTV’s Power and Politics Friday.

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