The ArriveCan app program cemented Canada’s reputation with US travelers as an irritating place to visit, the House of Commons trade committee was told yesterday. Cabinet suspended the mandatory program last Saturday following an outcry from border cities..“It had a massive effect,” testified Elizabeth Potter, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. “We were seeing a drop of 50% and more of Americans coming into the country. The reason was the ArriveCan app.”.Cabinet introduced the $19.8 million app on April 20, 2020 as an enforcement measure under the Quarantine Act. It mandated that travelers crossing the border send electronic notice of their vaccination status..“I am far from convinced that it was an effective tool for controlling the entry and spread of COVID-19 and I know how much it caused problems for travelers and for tourism businesses,” said the Tourism Industry Association’s Potter..According to Blacklock's Reporter, Mayor Jim Diodati of Niagara Falls, Ont. called the app “horrible,” an “unnecessary requirement” that confused and irritated Americans attempting to make day trips to Canada. “It’s the ‘rubber tire’ market,” said Diodati. “People impulsively make a decision to come to Niagara Falls.”.“They get in the van, they get to the border, they are questioned about the ArriveCan app,” said Diodati. “Of course, most have no idea what they’re talking about.”.“Our Canada Border Services Agency border guards instead of worrying about drugs and guns and criminals become administrators helping them to download the app with questionable outcomes,” testified the Niagara Falls mayor. “What happens? These people get frustrated.”.“When you have an experience that’s good you tell someone and when it’s bad you tell ten people,” said Diodati. “That’s exactly what’s been happening. There has been a lot of negativity through the US media and word of mouth throughout the United States. Now many people have decided to bypass Canada with their leisure dollars.."Our bigger concern now going forward is the long-term residual effect of the negativity around our borders.”.The City of Niagara Falls described itself as Canada’s leading leisure destination with 20 million visits a year prior to the pandemic. “50% of the revenue that comes into Niagara Falls, that’s five-zero, comes from U.S. visitation,” said the Mayor. “Americans typically stay longer and they spend more. The long-term effect of this requirement at the border has been devastating.”.The union representing border guards in September 27 testimony blamed the ArriveCan app for lengthy delays at land crossings. “I am hearing from one of our offices at Niagara Falls that he’s had travelers who come through who had actually urinated and defecated themselves from being stuck in the car for so long,” said Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union.
