Mark Weber, President of the Customs and Immigration Union that represents Canada’s border agents, has said that 30-40% of travellers are making their way up to checkpoints with the ArriveCAN app filled out incorrectly or not at all (via CBC).
According to Weber, this is especially the case at the border in Windsor, Ontario. He added that some travellers even refuse to complete the app outright.
The federal government mandated the use of the ArriveCAN app at Canadian borders to screen for COVID-19 and log people’s vaccination status as they enter the country.
In a recent statement, the Public Health Agency of Canada claimed that the ArriveCAN app reduces processing times at the border since officers don’t have to ask questions and input public health information manually.
“The use of ArriveCAN is also an efficient mechanism of verifying vaccine certificates in order to grant exemptions from quarantine. As travel volumes have increased in the spring and early summer of 2022, the use of ArriveCAN has become more important to relieving pressure at the border.”
However, that only works if people actually use the app. In reality, Weber said there are long lines and processing delays at borders because agents have to help travellers correctly fill out their ArriveCAN declarations.
“They have to help them complete it, have them complete it inside the office, which means cars backing up. It is causing delays and it’s adding to an already serious situation with our low staffing levels,” the union head said.
Weber highlighted the same issues last month, arguing the ArriveCAN app had essentially turned border officers into tech support.
“We’re in a situation where we’re kind of not doing our actual work as border service officers anymore. All of our time is being spent on the app,” he added.
“We’re not sure since no more contact tracing is happening why all of this data has to continue to be collected,” Weber said. “I would hope from a public health standpoint there is some long term goal to it.”
There is growing discontent among politicians and the Canadian public over the app, with many calling for it to be axed. The ArriveCAN app also has a penchant for erroneously ordering fully vaccinated individuals to quarantine after crossing the border, which travellers are far from happy about.
What’s more, the ArriveCAN app has been catching flak as of late for harming businesses in border communities as a lot of their non-Canadian customers now find crossing the border a hassle.
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a lot of people don’t read and then complain the line up at the immigration until they realized they were one of them.
A lot of people just don’t pay attention to anything, period. It’s why we now need collision avoidance and lane change assist on vehicles, why tiktok (gag) is the new hot platform.
It needs to be removed, there was nothing wrong with the pen & paper old method other than it being an annoyance.
Mostly it seems to be a problem at the land border. Pre-covid, did you ever even need to fill anything out with pen and paper at the land border? I never had to.
It serves no purpose at this stage in the pandemic. Whether it’s easy or not, it only adds time that is unnecessary.
Because pen and paper is so very inclusive to those who have disabilities e.g. blind or visually impaired. Relying on someone else to fill out paperwork that one can otherwise do themselves, now that’s a step or ten backward. Of course nobody ever thinks of that.
Bahaha…”logic” . “Because you can’t use pen and paper, we’ll force you to use a smartphone ap. Works wonders for the visually impaired, or old and unfamiliar with technology”.
Listen to yourself.
I’m listening to myself. It’s amazing that in 2022 blind and visually impaired have access to smartphones. Voiceover, Magnifier, and Talkback all work wonders.
Listen to YOURSELF.
You’re just not thinking of all of those blind and visually impaired people driving across the border alone…
We’re not sure since no more contact tracing is happening why all of this data has to continue to be collected
——-
That’s a really good question.
if you have a nexus card, the process of crossing the border should be 95% done previous to crossing. this arrivecan app is totally useless because they could use the existing nexus card to do this. once again, the current federal government does things for political reasons. use existing tech to fulfill your political needs.
This app is criminal. I hope people continue to disobey this non-sense.
It should be 100% boycotting the app in a democratic country….but 40% in Kanukistan. About in line with non-“libranos sheeple” number.
And in which universe would I have sympathy or even listen to the union rep of one of the government oppressive arms. I’m sure by now you have experienced or seen videos of these nominds abusing the travelers and flexing their muscle (which is a substitute for brain, a pre-condition of hiring. Besides diversity of course).
Your sheeple comment shows the level of your intellect. If you think you’re oppressed in this country, go elsewhere.
Bahaha….ok Justin.
This is sheeple attitude at its best…zero brain, limited assortment of responses.
Thanks for proving my point, sadly, I won’t be seeing your academic comments any longer.
Vade retro!
Point proven. Thank you.
Just drop the app already, it serves no purpose and is just creating issues. Doesn’t matter which side of the issue you are on, it’s useless now.
So as a Canadian trying to get back into Canada if I don’t use this app what happens? I’m not allowed into my own country? Isn’t that illegal?
Is this all just the Trudeau government proving how stubborn they can be in not admitting they made a mistake?
You’re allowed back in but face mandatory home detention, whether you are vaccinated or not and whether you are positive or not.
I don’t ever fill it out and I go over regularly like many people who live on boarder towns. They usually threaten you to do it or the odd time they will issue a fine. Ultimately they have to let you in, this process usually holds us up for an extra 10 minutes but we account for that.
I’m vaccinated but the app when I used to use it constantly said I needed to quarantine so I gave up on it and I tell the agents that. They understand as I’m not the only one.
Well I used this useless app and border agent didn’t even check when I returned to Canada. Than apparently a glitch caused many to mandatory quarantine for 14 days. Our family was in that glitch. So I finally get called back to work being off so long for last few years with covid crap I end up having to miss the first week back to work out of maybe only 2 weeks of work available and lose the pay i would have received. Now I am out a weeks pay food on my table for family and no apparent way of recouping the loss ? I assume many can understand the reason this app is a terrible idea useless in many ways and like myself out of income my family sure could have used. Oh and the roaming charges incurred by our expensive cell plans in Canada cost me almost $70 by the time I was done filling all the information in this app while in usa on their network. I unfortunately don’t have the resources of money at the moment being out of work so much having a basic cheap plan to save costs here in Canada for my family to contact incase of emergencies especially simce we live on the county to save costs also from living in a big city. Time to drop this app as it sure seems to cause more problems than what it’s worth and bring in some monetary help for those that were wronged and took a financial loss because of this app.
We use the Arrive Canada app when we come back to Canada. We make up the forms before we come home. We have 14 of those in a file because no one asks us for them. Isn’t the border patrol supposed to do their jobs and ask us for it? Then tell people you have to have it or your getting a fine or having to do quarantine. It’s a JOKE!
Not only does our naked emperor insist his invisible suit be applauded he also insists that after 2.5 years of medical martial law our Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become the Charter of Privileges and Compliance.