Photographer: E + / Getty Images
Photographer: E + / Getty Images
Jumping into a plane to take a breather is a Canadian ritual. Suddenly, however, it became a mistake that promoted the careers of politicians.
Three provincial ministers, including Ontario’s chief financial officer was forced to resign from the cabinet last week after being called to a bad destination during the holidays, in defiance of their governments’ guidelines to stay home due to Covid-19. About a dozen public officials who have traveled abroad are accused of ethical violations, and some have lost their parliamentary titles, including two members of Justin Trudeau’s government.
“We were very clear. “No one should be on holiday abroad at the moment,” Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. “One of the things that was very, very important to Canadians throughout this pandemic was the feeling that we are all in this together.” He said people traveling outside the country would not be eligible for a C $ 1,000 ($ 780) government benefit aimed at those who have to isolate themselves.
Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters outside his Ottawa residence on Jan. 5.
Photographer: David Kawai / Bloomberg
Canada’s travel rules are strict by the standards of most Western countries. Borders were closed to the vast majority of foreigners, and a 14-day quarantine upon arrival slowed airline traffic. Canadian authorities have discouraged non-essential travel from the country, although it has not been banned.
Faced with a surge of infections threatening to overwhelm hospitals as the holiday approaches in December, several provinces have sent their economies back to stricter locks and asked people to sacrifice family gatherings for the greater good.
“I’m the man who steals Christmas to keep you safe,” Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said during an emotional news conference.
Photographer: Trevor Hagan / Bloomberg
Most Canadians struggled over the holidays. Then came the evidence that some do exactly the opposite.
The The Journal de Montreal sends a reporter to an all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which finds that Quebec tourists hang out without masks and share drinks and cigarettes.
That article and similar reports left the French-speaking province in turmoil. They expressed fears that travelers would bring back the virus, in a repeat of the bad school holidays in March that blamed officials for Quebec’s death toll – 8,379 deaths, the most in Canada.
Next door in Ontario, travel became a political scandal when it came to light that Finance Minister Rod Phillips was on holiday in a luxury Saint Barthelemy after his government instituted a widespread business venture. To make matters worse, Phillips posted pre-recorded messages on Twitter giving the impression that he was still in the country. He resigned December 31st.
In Saskatchewan, a minister who traveled to California resigned from the cabinet on Monday.
The anger was particularly acute in Alberta, where Prime Minister Jason Kenney has been criticized for being slow to act against a surge of infections. On Monday, Kenney disciplinary action against his chief of staff and six legislators. These include Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard, who retired after traveling to Hawaii and was nicknamed “Aloha Allard” by some voters.
A flight attendant walked past an empty kiosk at Pearson Airport in Toronto last April.
Photographer: Cole Burston / Bloomberg
“Millions of Albertans have made real sacrifices over the past ten months to help protect each other,” Kenney said in a statement. “They are right to be angry at people in leadership positions who are on holiday outside the country.”
Tens of thousands of Canadians flees every year from harsh winters to the southern United States, Mexico and other warm destinations, with some so-called snowbirds spending the entire winter there. Such travel has declined by about 70% this winter, according to the Canadian Snowbird Association, an advocacy group for travelers.
‘We’re all tired of Covid. “Morality is cracking here and there and people are breaking the law,” he said. Richard Johnston, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. ‘It’s angry’ for voters to hear public officials tell them to avoid social gatherings and travel ‘and then the people who draft these regulations violate the rules they have made,’ he said.