Hello, fellow practitioners! Today’s question deals with Travel Measures introduced by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Feb 22 2021, and the interplay with travel restriction exemptions for international students travelling to Canada under a Study Visa:
Question
Is it right to interpret that international students who are coming to Canada to a designated learning institution (DLI) with a COVID-19 readiness plan and who: a) have, or have been approved for, a study permit and; b) are travelling to Canada for a non-discretionary or non-optional purpose should be exempt from the new measures of staying for their first 3 days at a ‘’government authorized hotel’’? A question which comes with this issue is that the order in council, PC Number 2021-0075 has been signed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. But anyone coming into the country is subject to the interpretation of legislation by an officer at CBSA – not PHAC! And the process of approving the DLIs’ readiness plans was done via provinces. And the list resides on IRCC’s website – not on PHAC or CBSA’s website.
Answer
This is a complex area of law, and in order to answer the question we must look to both the federal and provincial directives regarding travel to Canada under mandatory COVID -19 protocols. It is important to keep mentally separate the issues of who can cross the border right now, who is subject to general quarantine measures, and who is subject to the mandatory 3-day hotel stay. In other words, a person who is authorized to cross the border also has to separately consider if they will have to quarantine, and has to then further consider whether the 3-day hotel stay will apply. To make it even more complicated, CBSA and PHAC officials share jurisdiction over the interpretation of all these measures.
- A valid study permit or a letter of introduction that shows they were approved for a study permit; and
- Must be attending a designated learning institution (DLI) with a COVID-19 readiness plan approved by its province or territory.
In other words, in order to enter Canada while COVID-19 travel restrictions are in effect, a Study Permit holder must be enrolled in a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) which complies with provincial or territorial COVID -19 restrictions and has a COVID -19 readiness plan. This is pursuant to PHAC’s PC 2021-0075. These COVID-19 readiness plans:
- protect the health and safety of all students and the surrounding community
- describe how they will manage the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for international students, including arrangements for transportation to the students’ quarantine location
- provide information and support to international students about how they can get the items they need for their quarantine, like food and medications, health insurance, and remaining healthy while in Canada
A Study Permit holder whose DLI does not have a provincially or territorially approved COVID-19 readiness plan will not be admitted to Canada at this time. The IRCC website states:
“You must be studying at one of the approved DLIs included below to be able to travel to Canada. We will only add DLIs if their provincial or territorial government has approved their COVID-19 readiness plan.
If your DLI isn’t included below, you can’t travel to Canada to study at this time. If you try to travel to Canada when your DLI isn’t included, you may not be allowed to board your flight or you may be turned away at the port of entry.”
Meeting the above requirements will authorize a student to enter Canada, BUT they must still comply with all other quarantine requirements, such as the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Currently, the only exemptions from the general mandatory quarantine requirements are people travelling under certain conditions, such as those who:
- provide essential services
- maintain the flow of essential goods or people
- are receiving medical care within 36 hours of entering Canada (non-related to COVID-19)
- regularly cross the border to work
- live in an integrated trans-border community
Your question specifically mentions that the OIC has been issued and signed by the Public Health Agency of Canada, but potential entrants to Canada are subject to the interpretation of the legislation by an officer of the Canadian Border Services Agency, and not PHAC. You should be made aware that in fact CBSA and PHAC are currently working in close cooperation and PHAC is frequently consulted by CBSA in the interpretation of COVID border restriction rules.
The IRPA (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) provides legislation for immigration matters for Canada, but two other ministries have significant responsibilities under the IRPA:
- PSEP Ministry (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness); and
- ESDC Ministry (Employment and Social Development)
PSEP’s mandate and goals are met via the CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency). Canada’s immigration program is managed by several government ministries to achieve the goals and objectives of the IRPA. The CBSA would work alongside the PSEP and in turn under the PHAC, who issued this OIC, under the authority of the provisions of the Quarantine Act, 2005, section 58.
The PHAC is a federal agency, and by turn, it reinforces a provincial or territorial COVID-19 travel or quarantine requirement.
“Federal quarantine applies for travelers entering Canada. If you can enter Canada and you have no symptoms, you must quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.
Travelers flying – this includes a mandatory 3 night pre-paid booking at a government-authorized hotel at your own cost.
Travelers driving – may proceed directly to your suitable place of quarantine.
You are not excluded from quarantine, even if you have:
- tested negative for COVID-19
- been vaccinated for COVID-19
- recovered from COVID-19”[1]
Accordingly, reading all of the directives taken together, the only way that a Study Permit holder could avoid the mandatory 3-night stay at a government authorized hotel is if they are driving to Canada and crossing at a land border crossing.
Having said that, driving to Canada and crossing at a land border crossing does not exempt a Study Permit holder from quarantine, even if they have tested negative for COVID-19, have been vaccinated for COVID-19, or have recovered from COVID-19. In this scenario, the Study Permit holder would be exempt from the mandatory 3-day “hotel” stay, but would still be required to follow the 14 day self-isolation protocol as a provincial or territorial COVID-19 restriction in addition to any DLI COVID – 19 readiness plan.
With respect to the comment regarding the process of approving a DLI’s readiness plan via a province or territory, and the list being found on the IRCC’s website and not the PHAC or the CBSA’s website, this circles back to the administration of the IRPA and the government departments and agencies that are responsible to work together under IPRA’s legislation.
In a nutshell, there is no exemption for Study Permit holders from the PHAC mandated COVID-19 travel measures requiring travelers to Canada to stay in a “government authorized hotel”, when travelling by air to Canada.