Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Senator Gold, my question is in regards arriveCAN. It can be a very beneficial tool for Canadians as they arrive at the border, but unfortunately this tool has proven to be discriminatory because it discriminates against people that don’t have smartphones, like our more senior citizens. What happens to Canadians who are travelling and the app crashes, for example? It is these kinds of inconsistencies that have been creating havoc at the border.

Now it seems that Canadians appear to have the option to bring information to Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, officers in person, but again the policy seems to be a little discombobulated and unclear. I’m looking for some clarity from you that is indeed the case: Can you assure us that Canadians will no longer be forced into quarantine at the border for failure to use that app, and that airlines will stop refusing those looking to board as a result of it?

What happens now to Canadians, many of whom are seniors, who are already forced into quarantine prior to your government’s reversal — or seemed reversal — on this issue? Are they required to remain under quarantine? Can we have some clarity from the government on that?

Government leader, COVID-19 was discovered more than two years ago, although that sometimes feels far longer. There were two things that the Trudeau government was known for during the pandemic: inconsistent messaging and poor communications. Both of these issues are evident in this fiasco.

Canadians deserve better. Leader, when the quarantine is lifted, will your government communicate with everyone who has been caught up in this mess to inform them that their quarantine is over?

As I said, many of these people are seniors. Some of them don’t have smart phones or mobile data. How will you communicate with these people to let them know that the policies have changed yet again and that they can now stop quarantining?