Sunday, July 5, 2026
ADVT 
National

Travellers nervous, but pushing ahead with plans

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 16 Dec, 2021 11:00 AM
  • Travellers nervous, but pushing ahead with plans

TORONTO - Some travellers heading out of Canada say they're worried about surging COVID-19 cases, but are forging ahead with their plans despite the federal government warning against non-essential international travel.

Sanjay Mahar says he is heading to India from Toronto to see his family for the first time in years, having booked the trip a few months ago when case counts were low and vaccination rates high.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to avoid international travel as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has caused cases to spike in recent days.

Mahar says he was upset at the advisory and says it was so last-minute for him that he decided to go see his family anyway, especially his father whose health is poor.

He briefly looked into cancelling his trip, but said it was unclear if he'd be able to get any of his money back.

Jennifer Johnson says she's flying to Boston to see her daughter so they could be together for the holidays.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine
While researchers across the planet race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, a new poll suggests Canadians are divided over whether getting it should be mandatory or voluntary — setting up a potentially prickly public health debate if a vaccine becomes available. The federal government has committed tens of millions of dollars to help find or create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has infected at least 48,000 Canadians and killed more than 2,700.

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring
Canada's national police force wants a digital tool to harvest data from a sweeping variety of online sources, including the darkest reaches of the internet, to provide early information on threats such as disease outbreaks and mass shootings. The software would allow an RCMP officer to quickly mine data about a person's internet activities, from an emoji posting on Facebook to an illicit firearm purchase on the so-called darknet.

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons
Canada's first-ever virtual House of Commons kicked off this afternoon with almost 90 per cent of MPs dialed in to start. The House of Commons special committee on COVID-19 is meeting via videoconference this afternoon. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in his opening statement that he could see that 297 of the 338 MPs were online at that moment.

Canadian MPs meet online in first virtual session of House of Commons

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his mother was doing fine Tuesday after a fire at her downtown Montreal apartment sent her to hospital. Margaret Trudeau, 71, was transported to hospital after the fire that broke out on the patio of the building just before midnight Monday.

Justin Trudeau says mom Margaret Trudeau recovering after apartment fire

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress
Thousands more people are expected to contract COVID-19 and hundreds will likely die in the coming week, according to government projections, despite the progress the country has made in fighting the pandemic. Canada's case rate is now doubling every 16 days rather than three to five days seen about three weeks ago, Dr. Theresa Tam, the country's top public health officer, said on Thursday.

Hundreds more COVID deaths expected but Trudeau says Canada is making progress

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans
HSBC Bank Canada reported a drop in its first-quarter profit compared with a year ago as it took a charge related to bad loans it expects due to the downturn in the economy. The bank says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $54 million or 11 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31. That's compared with a profit of $158 million or 32 cents per share in the first three months of 2019.

HSBC Bank Canada reports Q1 profit down as it expects downturn to hurt loans