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Many Americans still aren't coming to Canada. Is the ArriveCAN app to blame?
Now that Canada has lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions, travel is making a comeback. But the number of road trips Americans made here over the past two months was still down by 45 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, according to Statistics Canada.
Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati, and several business owners in his city, told CBC News they believe the ArriveCAN app is a big deterrent for American road travellers. Consequently, they're calling on the federal government to scrap the app — or at least make it optional.
"I talked to Americans," said Diodati. "They're saying, 'Just bypass Canada. It's easier to go to Europe than come to Canada.'"
ArriveCAN was introduced by the federal government as a COVID-19 safety measure. Travellers must use it to submit their vaccination information within 72 hours before their arrival in Canada.
This week, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra defended ArriveCAN saying it reduces wait times at the border. "Given the fact that we require a vaccine certificate to cross to enter Canada, without it, the process of verification would be manual," he said.
The app has already had bad press in Canada, where some travellers have complained it's inconvenient, has glitches and is not user friendly for seniors.
As for U.S. tourists, Diodati said, "Tourists are like water. They take the path of least resistance. It's just easier to not come here." Read the full story here.
International aid arriving in flood-ravaged Pakistan
(Abdul Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)
Men affected by the Pakistan flooding carry relief food packets for their families at Jindi village in the Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Officials say planes carrying fresh aid from the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan have landed overnight — part of the humanitarian air bridge established last month. Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming at least 1,190 lives since June, washing away swaths of vital crops and destroying more than a million homes.
In brief
Have you been reading Jason Warick's continuing coverage of an exorcism performed at a Saskatchewan Bible camp? Criminal law experts have, and some say the details sound like it could be a criminal offence. "You know, you don't have to actually touch somebody for it to be an assault," said University of Saskatchewan criminal law professor emeritus Tim Quigley. "And from a moral standpoint, of course, it's reprehensible that young people should be subjected to such things." RCMP have said exorcisms are not illegal in Canada, and no charges will be laid. Read more about the reaction from the legal community here.
A confidential informant who was called a rat and attacked by other inmates after officers revealed his identity has launched a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Ontario's Peel Regional Police. The lawsuit was filed after a criminal court judge determined that the informant's Charter rights had been breached. "The police deliberately, blatantly and calculatingly disclosed [the informant's] identity," Ontario Superior Court Judge F. Bruce Fitzpatrick wrote in his 2020 decision. Criminal charges against the informant were stayed. But as for the mutimillion-dollar civil suit, Peel Police deny showing a video that revealed the informant's identity and say if that did happen, it "was part of a police strategy reasonably employed at the time in the circumstances," and officers could not have anticipated any risk to the plaintiffs. Read the details of the case here.
A research biologist whose photographs helped secure a $12,000 fine against a B.C. man accused of getting too close to killer whales says strong penalties are needed to protect the magnificent mammals. Karina Dracott provided investigators with images used to identify a pod of northern resident killer whales disturbed by a scuba diver who placed his boat directly in their path as they passed through the harbour in Prince Rupert, B.C., in April 2020. Dracott says that kind of behaviour is a consistent problem, not an isolated incident. "I think a few fines where people really are disregarding the regulations can have a big impact," she said. Read the full story here.
WATCH | B.C. man fined $12,000 for getting too close to orcas:
The Kennedy Space Center is an iconic symbol of NASA — located, for some reason, in the lightning capital of the United States: Florida. It's an area also prone to hurricanes. And as we saw this week, unpredictable weather can delay NASA's meticulously planned launches. But NASA is willing to work around that, because Cape Canaveral is close to the equator and that allows a spacecraft to take "optimum advantage" of the Earth's rotational speed. Read how NASA prevents its rockets from being hit by lightning here.
WATCH | NASA races to get Artemis mission back on track after launch postponed:
Western black widow spiders are not native to Atlantic Canada, but some have been discovered on a bus in Cape Breton. It was a new bus, delivered from California to Sydney, N.S., last week. Transit Cape Breton's main garage has been closed to undergo fumigation. Cape Breton Regional Municipality spokesperson Christina Lamey said it could take months to get rid of the venomous spiders, because exterminators have to make sure there are no eggs remaining on the bus. Click here to see a picture of the spider.
Now here's some good news to start your Friday: A Thunder Bay, Ont., man visited 30 different swimming holes in 12 hours this summer. It's a personal best for Kevin Sidlar, and he's challenging everyone to try to beat his record. But taking him on will require organization. Sidlar plotted his course using a secret spreadsheet of more than 100 local swimming holes that he collected through satellite images, online history forums and exploring. He ended up driving more than 250 kilometres to swim in each spot. "I wanted to make a perfect summer day," he said. "I build up wonderful memories over the summer to make up for the dark days of winter." Read about his favourite dip of the day here.
Front Burner: Inside a QAnon road trip with the 'Queen of Canada'
Death threats, hotel rooms left empty for supposed visits by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hours upon hours of the song Rasputin by Boney M.
These are the conditions former followers say they endured on a cross-country RV tour with Romana Didulo, the self-proclaimed "Queen of Canada."
Didulo became a well-known QAnon conspiracy figure, with claims she was the rightful ruler of Canada, but she originally didn't appear in public. Now, she's touring the country with supporters in RVs, including a stop in Peterborough, Ont., last month where her followers tried to arrest the city's police.
Vice World News reporter Mack Lamoureux spoke to former tour "staff" members, including some that Didulo reportedly abandoned in the middle of Newfoundland. Here's what they allege about the abuse they suffered, and why Lamoureux and some experts increasingly believe the group has the makings of a cult.
Today in history: September 2
1901: U.S. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt offers the advice, "speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.
1912: The first Calgary Stampede begins. It is instigated by Guy Weadick, a U.S.-born trick roper who thought Calgary would be a prime location for a big rodeo.
1972: The Soviet Union beats an NHL All-Star team 7-3 in Montreal to open their eight-game Summit Series. Canada would go on to rally and win the series.
1998: A United Nations war-crimes tribunal for Rwanda becomes the first international court to hand down a conviction for genocide, ruling that rape can be considered an attack meant to destroy a people. The ruling was in the case of a former Rwandan mayor accused of inciting the murder of 2,000 Tutsis.
With files from The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters
