Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. Senator Gold, your government’s ArriveCAN app can be a great tool for Canadians who choose to use it and are able to use it. However, in making its use mandatory for all Canadians returning to Canada, your government was actually discriminating against seniors who don’t always carry smartphones and people who don’t have the costly data plans. As you know, Canada has some of the most expensive data plans in the world.

It also didn’t take into account what people would do if the app crashed or became inoperable on their phones.

It appears Canadians now have the option to present their information in person to a CBSA officer, which perhaps should have been the case all along. I say “it appears” because I’m still not entirely sure if they were CBSA and the Public Health Agency of Canada agents at the border and airlines that are refusing boarding to passengers.

So, leader, can you assure us that Canadians will no longer be subject to quarantine at the border for failure to use the app and that airlines have been instructed to stop refusing boarding as well?

Thank you, Senator Gold. As you know, many Canadians will be travelling over the next days and weeks, and some are still in quarantine when they perhaps don’t have to be. So I would appreciate a timely answer on this, whether it’s today or tomorrow, because it is time sensitive, and you’ll understand that.

What happens now to those Canadians, many of whom are seniors, who are already forced into quarantine prior to the government’s reversal? Are they required to remain under quarantine?