I read the reassuring words of [Sea to Sky health officer] Dr. John Harding in Pique regarding the ongoing controversy over Whistler not requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination to access the mountain (Pique, Nov. 18, “Sea to Sky health officer tries to quell concerns over WB’s gondola policy”).
I take no position or stance on this issue, but I do have something to contribute based on my own recent personal experience.
Dr. Harding, as I believe others in officialdom have done, pointed to the vaccination requirements in place for international travellers flying into Canada from overseas. Currently, Canada says that it requires all such travellers to show proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within a 72-hour window of departure for Canada.
I am here to tell you that contrary to what Dr. Harding and others may believe, in practice that may not happen.
I was recently in the U.K., on personal and urgent family business. My short stay there was well nigh ruined by the anxiety of worrying whether I could obtain such a test within the required window, not to mention the expense involved. On this I will say no more as that part of my experience is not pertinent to this discussion.
I did manage to get a PCR test, as we had a sufficiently long layover before our departing flight to Vancouver. I was able to buy a rapid PCR test (accepted by the Canadian government) at the airport that gave results within three hours, as opposed to the minimum two days that PCR results normally take. I had to pay extra for the rapid results. The result was negative.
But here’s the thing: at no time was I ever asked to show or produce that test proof, or its result. When checking in with the airline I was asked for proof of vaccination, and that was it. At Vancouver customs/border control I was never once asked to show the PCR test proof. I basically walked right into arrivals at the airport without ever once being asked for either proof of vaccination or a PCR test result.
I do not regret getting the test, as I was not about to take any risks of not being able to get back into Canada. Yes it was annoying, after all the angst and worry and expense, to never be even asked to show it, but it was a necessary evil and that’s that.
My point is that, anyone believing that we are all protected from the unvaccinated by the “requirements” of our government for international arrivals by air is misguided.
