Jamaican Canadian groups respond to travel ban

Reacting to a rise in Covid19 cases as well as the discovery of new variants of the virus in the country, the Justin Trudeau-led government imposed its strictest measures yet to curtail the spread.
On Friday Canada issued a complete ban on all flights to the Caribbean region and Mexico – popular tourist destinations for Canadians this time of the year – until end of April which comes only a few weeks after mandating all travellers to provide a negative Covid PCR test 72 hours prior to travelling to the country.  

The extra layer of restriction is already causing severe trepidation particularly among people of Caribbean descent. And already three Jamaican Disapora groups in Canada jointly issued a statement calling for the Trudeau government to have a rethink of its decision.

In a joint release the Jamaican Canadian Association, Jamaica Global Diaspora Council (Canada) and Canadian Jamaican Diaspora Christian Alliance said: “We feel it unfairly targets Jamaica, the Caribbean and Mexico and will significantly impact the vulnerable economies of developing countries who have already experienced massive job and revenue loss.

“COVID19 is of great concern to all of us and therefore, the ban or new protocols should be applied equally to all countries and regions, not just the Caribbean and Mexico. Jamaica and other Caribbean countries have made significant investments and efforts to comply with all previous protocols to protect Canadians. Jamaica has been at the forefront of curbing the spread of COVID-19 by implementing mobile testing labs for outbound and inbound international travellers, and by implementing testing at their Sangster International Airport. Jamaica was also one of the first countries to close its borders at the onset of the pandemic to curb spread, keeping its numbers down while addressing international travel safety concerns. Therefore, this step of a targeted ban seems unjustified. The Canadian government’s own data shows only two percent of international travel has been linked to COVID19. Thus, we are at a loss at this seemingly arbitrary and punitive measure being imposed on predominantly Black and racialized countries.

“Jamaica, the Caribbean and Mexico are not only sun destinations; significant business, commerce and trade take place between Canada and the impacted countries, in addition to individuals traveling for emergency reasons to support family who are unwell or have passed.

“It is important to note that while Jamaica, the Caribbean and Mexico are no longer options for March break, Canadians who intend to travel despite warnings, may still consider Florida and other sun destinations that have higher and increasing rates of COVID-19.

“The government has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the destinations on the travel ban pose imminent danger to Canada compared to the numerous other countries that are still viable options to our citizens.”

Jamaican Canadian Association President Adaoma Patterson added: “We are not clear on what data was used to support this decision. No Caribbean country is in the top five for COVID-19 outbreaks. To cancel all flights until April 30th is extreme; yet this does not apply to countries that have confirmed cases of the COVID-19 variant.”

The groups in its collective voice further stated: “We ask that this ban be rescinded and that the protocols applied to other countries be applied to flights coming from the Caribbean and Mexico, or that the ban be applied equitably to all international flights. Our organizations would be happy to work with the federal government to explore options that will achieve the desired outcome without causing further, and undue, hardship on nations with whom Canada has had longstanding positive and mutually beneficial relationships.”