No foreign yachts or cruise ships in Canada until 2022
I've spent a half dozen or more summers cruising in the Canadian Maritimes and posted the following on the Cruising Atlantic Canada group earlier this year. I've seen no indication of a change to the report below that Canada will be closed to foreign yachts and cruise ships until February 2022.
As of May 25, 2021, in Canada a total of 1,660,830 people or 4.4 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated. It seems to me that doesn't bode well for Canada lifting the restrictions in the near future.
Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater
No foreign yachts or cruise ships in Canada until 2022
Milt Baker N4732 Bluewater
[SIZE=-1] Mar 6 [/SIZE]
#943
The following report from
Forbes is more than a month old but it represents the Canadian government's position on foreign pleasure boats and cruise ships in Canada. In essence, no foreign yachts or cruise ships until 2022.
Milt Baker, N4732 Bluewater
Canadian government position on foreign pleasure boats in Canada.
Government Of Canada Bans Pleasure Crafts And Cruise Vessels For
One Year
Sandra MacGregor Forbes Contributor
Government of Canada announced today, February 4, 2021, that it will continue to maintain the ban on pleasure crafts and cruise ships. The temporary ban for cruise ships was originally scheduled to end on Feb. 28, 2021. Today, Canada’s Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, announced two new Interim Orders, which prohibit pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters and cruise vessels in all Canadian waters until February 28, 2022.
In a
press release the government stated that “The Government of Canada continues to monitor the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it is having on the marine and tourism sectors. Keeping Canadians and transportation workers safe and healthy are top priorities for Transport Canada.”
According to the press release these measures mean that:
- Adventure-seeking pleasure craft are still prohibited from entering Arctic waters.
- Passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are still prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, and the Labrador Coast.
- Cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are still prohibited from operating in Canadian waters.
Pleasure craft used by local Arctic residents will not be affected by these measures. These restrictions do not apply to craft used by local communities for essential transportation, subsistence fishing, harvesting and hunting in Canada’s Arctic waters.
Government of Canada announces one-year ban for pleasure craft and cruise vessels
The government said that these prohibitions will allow public health authorities to continue focusing on the pressing issues, including the vaccine rollout and new COVID-19 variants. The release went on to state that “To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Canada continues to advise Canadian citizens and permanent residents to avoid all travel on cruise ships outside Canada until further notice…Cruise vessels in Canadian waters pose a risk to our health care systems. The Government of Canada will continue to evaluate the situation and make changes as necessary to ensure the health and safety of all Canadians. Should the COVID-19 pandemic sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the Interim Orders.”
The prohibition is not intended for essential passenger vessels, such as ferries and water taxis. There is also no national ban for smaller cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer people, though these vessels must follow provincial, territorial, local and regional health authority protocols.
Those who do not comply with the pleasure craft prohibition could be subject to penalties of $5,000 per day for individuals and $25,000 per day for groups or corporations. Those who don’t comply with the passenger vessel prohibition could be subject to a fine of up to $1 million or to imprisonment for a term of up to 18 months, or to both.
“As Canadians continue to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our government continues to work hard to ensure Canada’s transportation system remains safe. Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do,” said Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport.