A vote to end COVID-19 restrictions for travelers and revert to pre-pandemic rules was defeated in the House of Commons today..A total of 117 parliamentarians voted in favour of the motion, while 202 voted against it. The vote was primarily among party lines, with the Conservatives voting 'yes' and the Liberals, NDP, Bloc Québécois and Greens voting 'no.'.Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman initially sponsored the motion in the House of Commons, saying that the federal government should "ensure Canada is not an outlier in the world" and "do what other countries have already done.".The motion read that Canadians are experiencing "unacceptable wait times" at airports, the current travel restrictions have been cited as "ineffective," Canada's allies have moved to lift restrictions at airports and other entry points, and that Canada is losing business and economic opportunities.."The House call on the government to immediately revert to pre-pandemic rules and service levels for travellers," it said..During question period, Conservative MPs have repeatedly asked the Liberals why they refuse to overturn vaccine mandates for travelling by plane or train, especially given Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam's admission that COVID-19 spread on airplanes is "extremely rare."."The government still has not shared any justification for their outdated and out-of-step restrictions," Lantsman said on Twitter following the vote..Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said he was "disappointed," with the Liberal and NDP's decision to continue to "hamper travel and tourism."."The world has moved on from COVID restrictions, yet the NDP-Liberals remain stuck in the past," Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen said on Twitter. "Why is Canada still clinging to federal COVID restrictions?".The Canadian Airport Council and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have both called for the federal government to drop all COVID-19 travel restrictions. They claim the rules are leading to reduce crippling delays at Canadian airports.."Following the easing of many of these restrictions, demand is coming back and it is clear that people want to travel. We can therefore ill afford to have passengers subjected to unacceptable wait times both on arrival in the country or on departure," the IATA said in a press release.."The relevant authorities must urgently consider removing the last remaining travel related COVID-19 restrictions and work with the industry on policies and processes which will allow passengers to pass through airports with no undue delay.".Tory leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre also expressed his outrage..“ I oppose the unscientific vaccine mandates. I opposed them from day one and I will oppose them until they are all removed,” he said..”I attempted to vote for MP Melissa Lantsman's motion ending all COVID travel restrictions. I was voting remotely as I was in Thunder Bay, but the voting application did not register my vote as a result of a technical problem. I will be raising a point of order to alert the speaker to the issue and asking for my vote to be properly counted as favouring the end of these rules.“
