Trudeauâs quarantine hotels hurts those who need our help the most
February 4, 2021
During a crisis, flailing governments need a scapegoat. And vacation travellers at Caribbean all-inclusives make a convenient political target for politicians looking to justify draconian measures like hastily announced $2,000 per person quarantine hotel stays.
This approach works because there is little public sympathy for people who jetted off to tropical locales while the rest of us freeze at home. Ontarioâs former finance Minister Rod Phillips can attest to this.
But the reality is that many people who travelled during these perilous times are doing so for truly heart-wrenching reasons. And the federal governmentâs clumsy Friday announcement has left these travellers scrambling. The new quarantine measures will require travellers entering Canada to take a PCR test upon arrival, and then quarantine in a government contracted hotel for up to three days, at an estimated cost of ove