Mandatory use of the ArriveCan mobile app for travellers during the pandemic increased burdens on Canada’s border officers and discouraged tourism while causing significant losses to businesses, several witnesses told a parliamentary committee studying the matter.
“During COVID, we lost two tourism years. And unfortunately, we lost another tourism year this year. Two years we could blame on COVID; this year ... it was self-inflicted,” said Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli during a meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade on Sept. 27.