Canada clamps down

That's not enough. I feel the starting fine should be CA$10,000 and rapidly escalate from there based on how long the person has stayed illegally in Canada and the attitude they have about getting fined. Also, confiscation of their vehicle and being returned to the US border in handcuffs would maybe help get the message through these idiots heads.

And no, I'm not joking about this.

Good for the Alberta authorities for their enforcement !

The Mounties (R.C.M.P.) always get their man ...

I'm going to side with Mark a bit on this one. Maybe not to that extreme, but I'd like to see the offenders hammered with a tougher fine, given 24 hrs to leave the country, and banned from re entry into Canada for at least 5 years. I hate it when anyone thinks they can do whatever they bloody well feel like, irrespective of local laws.

hey hey all
i totally agree with mark. before you travel see what restrictions there are. every state and country has laws to follow, it's not all about you to think you can do what you want.
same issue with arriving passengers in hawaii, it's okay to break the law and not quarantine since it's not your concern.
planned to fly into kona to see family but not sitting for 14day quarantine at sisters house. will wait till they open. the state has extended quarantine till end of july maybe even till august.
just had a group of 21 members of a "cult" (carbon nation), fined $2000 to $4000 arrested, put in jail and all escorted to honolulu airport for a flight back to LA. stay home we don't want you here. the clusters of the virus are coming out within the islands and residents are more than upset.
it may sound cruel or too harsh how some of us feel, but we need to get this under control no matter what the penalty is.
aloha

I am sure they will have good reasons for doing so! They were just stretching their legs, the scenery was so pretty, they didn't know the virus was in that part of the country. Then they will go home and complain at how unfair it was to be treated like that. I agree with a five year ban and a good fine. They should have been thankful Canada allowed them to travel through their country.

I was in that area for the past couple of days. I saw one vehicle with California plates stopped at a scenic lookout. On the highway, I saw a vehicle with no license plate and one with either no plate or the plate was obscured by some sort of rack. I wondered about those.

This made me angry. Banff and Lake Louise are NOT on the way to Alaska from the US. I want Americans to stay out!

This infuriated me - because the people who really do want to just transit by vehicle through may soon be forbidden .

Every country has the right to control their borders and determine who enters their country.
I don't agree with Canada's rules totally, but it should be honored.

My only 'be careful' about this is assuming that anyone with out of country plates came over the borders two days ago and are now sightseeing (I know that isn't the case with the ones who got the fines).

Who is to say the folks with the California license plates aren't dual citizens or did their 14 day quarantine? Our next door neighbours are duals and they're selling their house and going back to the States in the next month to pick up a motor home and live that way. (What a time to return!! But this was in the works before C-19). There is someone with MA plates who I've seen in our hood for the last 5 yrs (I assume they are duals and live here half the time) - I'd hate for them to be harassed. Our dual neighbours spotted a Maine license plate a few weeks ago and out of curiosity asked why he was here - he has a summer home here and had done his 14 days.

So, don't go off on people. Just this weekend at our local park I saw plates from NB and BC - but whose to say they haven't moved here (the folks moving in next door are from NB) and just didn't get new plates yet? Or that they aren't working here or visiting a sick relative?

Here's some info from another article that fines could become more severe;
If the visit ends up causing a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another person, they would face up to $1 million in fines and a possible three-year sentence.

Another article;
https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/thousands-of-tourists-shoppers-still-trying-to-enter-canada-despite-covid-19-travel-ban-1.4990050

While Canadians can't drive across the US border, we are allowed to fly to the US without needing to quarantine. To me this is more disturbing, because when they come back to Canada they are on an honor system to self quarantine for 14 days. I can't find any info on how many Canadians are traveling back and forth for non essential reasons. Luckily, as a country we've only had 8000 deaths so far, 162 in Alberta.

Nicole, I am not going to assume anything about anyone else other than they are following the rules no matter what it may look like. The officials in charge of whatever the situation is will do their job and find those violating the rules.

I am just very disappointed in other US citizens who just have to break the law and brag about it because they feel it doesn't apply to them and they can't be inconvenienced whether that is one of them a day or a hundred. All it takes is one. The only way to get through to these fools is by stricter enforcement and higher penalties. I know Canada is very strict on who they allow in to the country under normal circumstances, I hope they ban those who lie to get in during the current situation from future visits for at least as many years as those who had a minor drug conviction in their teens.

Good for Canada! Our American Airlines flight from Dallas to Montreal was canceled. We were using the Montreal airport to access nearby northern New England. Now we will fly totally within the US.

My only 'be careful' about this is assuming that anyone with out of country plates came over the borders two days ago and are now sightseeing

Here in Maine there were some incidents involving people with out of state plates. In some cases, people with out of state plates were here doing medical work in connection with the coronavirus. I think others were out of staters contracted to do utility line work. And some had been doing renovation at a house for a month or more.

Good.
I read this this morning and am glad to see that our authorities are now waking up
to this.
Someone I know talked to a family in a coffee shop the other day who told her they had come up to Canada from the US for a" nice vacation" with their three kids.
Seriously??
I saw a truck and trailer from Iowa in a local parking lot the other day.
Perhaps people had moved here ….I don't know.

The Border Staff should take license numbers, names and the number of occupants in each vehicle as they cross.
If they say they are driving to Alaska, then give them 48 hours to arrive at that Border and present their papers again, and then be checked off as honest travelers.
If not , put out a warrant.
Sorry,but we have worked too hard in Canada to keep our numbers down.
I'd hate to see the numbers rise again because people feel they "need " a vacation.
BTW: this should work both ways: Canadians trying to go the US as well, for no other reason than vacation.

The travel to Alaska was supposed to be for Alaska residents caught in the lower 48 to be able to get back to Alaska, or vice versa, so necessary travel in as short amount of time as is safe and practical with limited stops just to fuel up, eat, and use the washroom.

Residents of the Northwest Angle are also allowed passage with mostly the same restrictions understanding that they make the trip for normal activities like buying groceries, seeing the doctor, going to school, and other things they have always done. The route allowed for the passage has always been restricted as well and requires checking in and out at border crossings at both ends entering and leaving Canada.

The exemption was never supposed to be so people who felt like driving to Alaska for the heck of it could go through Canada sightseeing along the way.

S J, but why would any Canadian want to enter the US anyway? ;-)

The US has many natural wonders that are worth visiting. And at least 51% of us are welcoming and rational hosts.
The last word that I would use to describe myself is "patriot" and I agree that we are seeing some difficult times with a huge social divide, but I am dismayed at the degree the self flagellation has come to.

Robert...I recall hearing a story about some guys from MA who were in Maine doing home reno’s or something like that...and residents barricaded the road even though the guys had been there for a few weeks...

And even the border between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia...the NB people seem to be acting like the East Berlin border guards or something. One lady who lived close to the border was moving out west. Her flight from Halifax got canceled and she was rescheduled via NB. They wouldn’t let her into NB even though her daughter was just going to drop her at the airport and come right back to NS. I toyed with spending some tourist $ in NB when they open up but hearing stories like that...I’ll be damned if I’ll spend any money there.

Also, just to shout out...(for now) NS is C19 free...no active cases and no new cases for 11 days.

Looks like both Canadian coasts are doing the right things. No small wonder why Canada doesn't want Americans visiting during the pandemic.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-16/a-virus-epicenter-that-wasn-t-how-one-region-stemmed-the-deaths
May 16 report:

B.C. stuck to old-fashioned basics, alerting primary care doctors by
fax about how to be on the lookout for the novel pathogen and tracing
potential transmissions through interviews. Data compiled on May 13
show the province’s Covid-19 death rate was 3 per 100,000 residents,
better than almost anywhere in North America and much of Europe.

June 22 report:
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-update-for-june-22-heres-the-latest-on-coronavirus-in-b-c

LATEST UPDATES 3 p.m. – 32 cases, one new death

There have been 32 new cases of COVID-19 reported in British Columbia
over the past three days, and one death.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there were 182 active
cases of the disease, with 14 of those in hospital and six in
intensive care. These numbers, while low, have climbed since case
figures were last reported on June 19.

I totally agree with our rules ! And am much as I think there are many wonderful Americans, I don’t want them in my city yet !!
Our island ( Vancouver island ) has had no new cases for about a week now and I’d like it to stay that way

I agree with you Pat.

Yesterday on my way to work I passed a car with Tennessee plates. I haven't seen American plates since this began. I wonder how on earth -- why on earth -- they're here. My logical side says they have some legitimate reason for being here but my cynical side says otherwise.

Weirdest of all was that it was Tennessee. I don't think I've ever seen Tennessee plates around here. I'd say most common are New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Florida. Smattering of others more commonly seen include Georgia, California, and plenty of others. But i don't ever recall seeing Tennessee.

We were flying from US to Montreal, then were to drive into a nearby US town. We called American to change flights and they had already canceled it. We are now booked through US cities, a more complicated trip. But we totally understand. Canada has to protect itself from the US’ surging Coronavirus due to incompetent Trump.

"S J, but why would any Canadian want to enter the US anyway? ;-)"

Well, I loved NYC, Palm Springs and other places I used to go to; but we, and many others , will not cross over until your "leader" is long out of office.
I'm sorry if anyone does not like my viewpoint, but we have
avoided the US since mid 2015.

Please come up to beautiful Canada when we have a proven CV19 vaccine...we will welcome you then! :)

There's too many places in the US to love so I know I'll be back when safe. The current political situation makes no difference to me. We have our own political issues like Quebec's ignorance of Alberta that I could throw around as a reason to stay away from a location.

Don’t agree Allan - your political system ( well let me clarify that , your leadership specifically the one who shall not be named ) has kept us out of USA since 2017 .

Won’t go back till he’s out

Even funnier, Pat, is the large number of extremely vocal celebrities who were going to move to Canada the last presidential election who haven't. Of course, your immigration rules would prevent most from even visiting. But since most of them seem to think illegal immigration into the USA is a "right" I'm surprised they don't feel the same about those moving North.

I feel the starting fine should be CA$10,000 and rapidly escalate from there based on how long the person has stayed illegally in Canada and the attitude they have about getting fined. Also, confiscation of their vehicle and being returned to the US border in handcuffs would maybe help get the message through these idiots heads.

Totally agree, Mark. And a like policy should be enforced on those not following the law in the USA from other countries.

This story is from May 30th but gives an interesting perspective of why some Americans are coming to Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/covid-19-canada-border-closures-diabetics-insulin-1.5584867

Drug pricing is a real issue in the US. And our leadership wants to try to remove what little protection we have through insurance by invalidating the current government mandated rules (again) while lying to us that removing the protection will not change a thing.

I am facing the insulin price ridiculousness myself. Last year, I paid $100 for a 90 day supply of the insulin I use as part of my employer provided insurance. I no longer work for them and had to buy insurance on my own (I am not yet old enough for Medicare). Since Colorado passed a law restricting insurance copay to $100 a month for any insulin product you would think the cost would be that under my new policy, right? Wrong! Most insurance companies in Colorado have simply removed insulin from their covered drugs instead of only charging the $100 copay meaning we have to pay full retail. For the one I use it is $600 for 20 days worth. If I could go to Canada, I can get exactly the same drug for around $50 for the same 20 day supply and I could purchase an entire year's worth at one time. Even paying for the travel, possibly a hotel room, and meals, I still save money over paying what they charge here. Ridiculous.

Unfortunately, Canada is still closed due to the quarantine restrictions. We applied for eTA in January and hoped to visit this country in May, then we had to put our plans off. According to the info on https://evisa.express/en/canada, eTA is valid for 5 years, and it is great that we won't need to pass through the procedure again. As for Alaska, I noticed that it has become a really popular travel destination. Maybe we will be lucky to go on a cruise there next year.

I agree that every country has the right to control its borders and determine who enters the country, and the rules should be adhered to. I also agree with what vandrabrud stated.

There’s been a serious uptick in the number of American tourists in Quebec City this past week, according to family who live there. I have no clue how they managed to come up. That’s a major problem, especially as this is coinciding with the arrival of international students (the excuse for entry?) and the return of our kids to school.

We just don’t want the crisis that Hawaii is currently dealing with... being at full ICU capacity and having ambulances turned away from hospitals, like in Hilo this week. There were very few cases in Hawaii at the start of the summer, but “bargain hunting” Mainland tourists looking for a “Covid-free vacation” changed all of that pretty quickly, by refusing to follow State rules and quarantine in paradise.

At least Canada is serious when you flaunt your disregard for their law in their face:

One US citizen who disregarded the Alaska transit rules at least twice is now facing $500,000 in fines and 6 months in prison. I wonder if he is going to try and skip out on bail and miss his court dates too? And then probably complain if Canada bars him for life.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/american-tourist-more-than-500000-fine-breaking-canadian-coronavirus-restrictions?did=554353-20200827&utm_campaign=just-in_newsletter&utm_source=travelandleisure.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=082720&cid=554353&mid=39724056114