Just a flu, or global pandemic? Canada's open border politicians can't decide on airport screening

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Crypto

In Canada, one of the symptoms of the spread of coronavirus is political schizophrenia:

Warning of the dire spread of the infection while doing not much in the way of practical measures to prevent the spread.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu told the Globe and Mail:

Between 30 per cent and 70 per cent of Canadians could become infected with the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and that the outbreak of COVID-19 is a “national emergency and crisis”.

When is Hadju going to start acting like it?

Health Canada has advised that people to stay off cruise ships and wash their hands but the battle against the spread of coronavirus needs to be waged at ports of entry.

And it’s not.

A City News reporter, who was at Montreal’s Trudeau airport when the last plane from pandemic battered Italy arrived, tweeted:

“The last Air Canada flight coming in from Rome has landed. Passengers tell us that no one at Trudeau Airport asked them questions. They simply gave them a paper explaining the virus. Most passengers told us they’ll go into self isolation “just in case”. @CityNewsMTL #coronavirus”

Italy had over 200 deaths from Coronavirus in just 24 hours. The whole country is on lockdown, with schools and stores are closed, 1,000 people have died in total, and the healthcare system is completely overwhelmed, now reduced to triaging, treating in tents and denying treatment to the elderly.

Yet, travellers from the European hot zone were not greeted by health screeners upon deplaning in Canada.

This carelessness with the health and safety of Canadians is supported by reporting in the Star:

“Jean-Pierre Fortin, the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, told the Star Wednesday that his members’ immediate concern is more support from Health Canada at the country’s major airports — including Toronto’s Pearson International. Fortin said there are currently no Health Canada officials at major land crossings.’

Meanwhile in the United States, President Trump is enacting a travel restriction that applies to foreign nationals who have been in 26 European countries with open borders agreements in the last 14 days.

I guess the Liberals commitment to open borders means keeping the borders wide open to viral epidemics.