Canadian Quarantine Hotel Headaches Continue: Price-Gouging, Bad Food and More
March 4, 2021 Jim Byers
A family that was charged more than $3,400 for a 15-hour stay. Travellers allowed to go straight home because hotels were full. And ongoing complaints about bad food and a seeming lack of preparation.
The Trudeau government has been criticized for being late with vaccines and for muddled COVID-19 messaging. Now you can add a flurry of criticism for its mandatory hotel quarantine program.
As of February 22, anyone flying into Canada is supposed to be tested for COVID-19 at one of four airports open to international flights. They’re then required to check into one of a couple dozen government-approved hotels for up to three days – at their own cost – while they await their test results.
The program has been riddled with problems, with critics labelling it “ill-conceived” and a “total boondoggle.”
As reported by Canadian Travel News this week, some travellers are arriving in Canada and being told hotels are full. Those fliers are allowed to go straight home for their mandatory 14-day quarantine, potentially saving thousands of dollars and avoiding up to three nights in a cramped hotel room with food that appears to be taken out of your average Canadian prison cafeteria.
CTV reports a family who had to fly to Portugal for a funeral was forced to pay nearly $3,500 for a Toronto hotel room. Their tests came back negative the next day but they had to pay for a three-night stay that rose to $3,458 with taxes and fees.
Cristina Teixeira said it was a nightmare returning to Canada from her father’s funeral.
“The stress that we were put under is inconceivable,” Teixeira told CTV News Toronto. “As a Canadian citizen, I can tell you this is wrong on so many levels. We’ve never experienced something like this.”
Even the Globe and Mail editorial board has jumped into the fray. In an editorial this week, the paper said other countries have managed to figure out proper quarantine plans, and that the Trudeau government gave itself a month to figure out how to do its three-day program.
Their editorial said that “the result was widely reported as chaos, starting with travellers trying to follow the law by booking a room and continuing into the hotels themselves.”
Exactly.
The Liberals set up a PHONE LINE for people to call to make reservations, not understanding that it’s far too expensive for someone in, say, India or Argentina, to dial a phone number in Montreal and wait on the line for hours. Hello, Ottawa, there’s this new tool called the World Wide Web. You should give it a go.
Then we have the hotels, most of which have kitchens and restaurants and should be able to deliver a hot breakfast to a room before 9:30 a.m., or a plate of spaghetti and meatballs that’s actually warm.
Clearly, not enough people in the federal government thought this through. Nobody said, “Hey, what about people with dietary restrictions,” or “What about returning students who can’t be left alone in a hotel for up to 72 hours without a parent?”
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner has been a vocal critic of the hotel quarantine plan.
“Over the past week, horrifying reports of sexual assault, unsafe and deplorable conditions at federal quarantine hotel facilities have emerged,” she said this week. “We have heard reports that it is taking hours to get through to book these hotels, dietary restrictions are not being met, and food and water are not always readily available.
“We can protect Canada from an influx of new cases by using the tools already at our disposal: pre and post-arrival rapid testing and at-home quarantine, without subjecting them to this type of deplorable treatment,” she said.
“It is time for the government to permanently bring an end to this deeply flawed program and replace it with a more effective system of enhanced pre- and post-arrival testing for international travellers and better and safer enforcement of the at-home quarantine,” Rempel Garner said. “Canada’s Conservatives will continue to call for the government to enact a real plan to protect Canadians in the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This was clearly a slapdash, last-minute affair. And both Canadians and visitors are paying the price.
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We are currently off shore as well and hearing all the comments about our country in this regard is not too pleasant. Snowbirds are risk averse and we work hard to stay safe. This Hotel situation puts us in a new layer of risk… Why are the tests not good enough, and how many people quarantining in hotels actually have a positive test. Would really like to have that information.
I don’t consider myself a rocket scientist; however common sense tells you that you come up with a plan and have all your details sorted and implemented BEFORE you create mass chaos!! When this was announced, the hotels hadn’t even been chosen.
I was outside of Canada for an extended stay, at a friend’s home, and was due to come back in March. The uncertainty caused by “snippets” released made for a very stressful time. I finally pulled the plug and booked a flight back early. LUCKILY for me, I chose a return date JUST before the new restrictions came into effect.
I’m tired of being provided with information that leaves more questions than answers. What has happened to people since the new restrictions is abhorrant. It’s provided no additional health safety whatsoever. I arrived at the airport, took an Uber home and am now coming to the end of my quarantine – with no unnecessary contact with people AND the government has come by to check … and that’s okay!
They need to bring an end to this ill-conceived plan, that I feel was implemented solely to stop travel during spring break.
We are in Panama now and have been since Dec 28th before these rules and threats happened. Air Canada cancelled our flight and we were stranded. So we booked Copa Airlines and fly back March 28th. We have no intention of being detained. I have Crohns disease and will not stay in a room which might contain the virus together with poor ventilation and crappy food( which may be leftovers by the sounds of it. ) We will take the fine and go to court. The Conservatives have stood by and let this happen because they need the votes from TRAVEL SHAMERS. In Panama we got tested rapidly when we arrived and have actually enjoyed the lockdowns because it keeps us safe. Only difference is we enjoy the sun as we relax safely. Masks have been worn outdoors since we arrive and temp checks in every store, market and park. We will see what happens at the airport. Shame on Trudeau. He has escaped 3 scandals and we sit back!!!!