Visiting Canada comes with arrest and a fine for Americans

Visiting Canada comes with arrest and a fine for Americans
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Americans were the largest group of visitors to Canada in normal times. This is history. Americans are no longer welcome to visit their neighbors to the north. This seems to be rewarding to Canada, and this is not refering to the fines US citizen will have to pay when trying to vacation in Canada claiming the Alaska exception.

The current daily average new infection rate for COVID -19 is 082% in the United States, and 0.48% in Canada.
It shows why it is important to keep Americans out of Canada.

Therefore Americans are not welcome to vacation in Canada and pose a clear threat to the Canadian Health System. Attempts come with immediate deportation and a $500.00 fine per visitor fine.

A Canada Border Services Agency announced that it’s closing the so-called “Alaska loophole” that had an unknown number of American travelers claiming to be going to Alaska via British Columbia,ย  but staying on vacation in the Province instead.

An American family has been escorted across the B.C. border into Washington state after being caught apparently exploiting the “Alaska loophole,” according to BC RCMP.

A vehicle with an Alaska license plate entered the country around August 25 and the family told officials they were heading to Washington State. When they didnโ€™t leave the country a few days later, there was a call out to enforcement agencies to look for them.

(The) Vancouver Police Department was able to locate the vehicle and the occupants around August 29th and confirmed that they did have a local hotel booked on Granville Street in Vancouver.

The family was escorted to Peace Arch Border Crossing on Aug. 29 and each member was issued a $500 fine under section 15.3 of the Quarantine Act.

Americans are allowed to drive through Canada to get to and from Alaska, but they are required to take the shortest route possible, stopping only for essentials and avoiding tourist attractions. They are also given a specific date on which they must exit the country, which must be displayed in their vehicle at all times while in Canada.

According to B.C. Premier John Horgan, small destinations on Vancouver Island are tracking incidents where American travelers have been spotted.ย  A local chief of the Pacheedaht (First Nation) and he tells me that there was a license plate from Texas and a license plate from California at the Port Renfrew General Store. Citizens in BC are encouraged to call the Royal Canadian Mountain Police when spotting illegal Americans on vacation.

There have been cases ofย American boat owners fined and escorted back to the U.S. after being caught in Canadian waters.

The message by police is: โ€œIf anyone believes that there is somebody suspicious โ€“ that would include hotels and businesses โ€“ we would encourage anyone to reach out to the police. If somebody is in violation (of the Quarantine Act), they can anticipate an escort and, in addition, a fine.โ€

Vancouver Island’s regional tourism communities are on edge.

 

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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