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Its easy to imagine the main reason Liberal leadership doesnt want to back off is they dont want to be seen agreeing with those proto-human Conservatives

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Ask a Canadian politics-watcher what question period is for as a novice very well might, confused at the simian behaviour and total absence of answers and youll hear that its really just a way to get politicians on the record, riled up and passionate about the issues of the day, for the evenings newscasts.

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Some days that holds water. Some days, not so much. Thursday, for example.

Mr. Speaker, the EU and U.S. have dropped their (vaccine) mandates, while Canadian travellers still have to provide proof of vaccination, wear masks and be subject to random testing, Calgary Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie rose in the House of Commons and observed. Canadians want to travel again, but the backlogs created by these now unnecessary restrictions have become so extensive that Air Canada had to cancel 360 flights in one week at Torontos Pearson airport.

When, asked Kusie, will the government finally focus on economic recovery and lift these out-of-date, punitive travel mandates?

As question period questions go, it was relatively to the point, un-snarky and well-crafted. There is no denying the chaos afflicting Torontos Pearson Airport these days, and while thats not unique in the world the situation in Britain seems to be considerably worse and crippling more airports the extra business that Canadian border officers have to deal with nowadays is.

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Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and other British airports endless queues and cancelled flights are being blamed almost entirely on staff shortages. Here, the entire airline and airport industry, as well as Canada Border Services, agrees the Canadian travel mandates are gumming up the gears: What used to take 30 to 60 seconds now takes two to three minutes. Those delays add up, and they cascade through the system.

I would be lying if I said I understood why these rules have to be such a time-waster. The ArriveCAN app signals in the blink of an eye whether or not your proof of vaccination has been accepted. If border officials are spending precious minutes informing foreign tourists of local public-health rules, such as what to do if they test positive, that must be of questionable utility: I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I dont even know what my various governments rules say nowadays. Whatever they say, they clearly are not enforced.

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As for that random on-arrival testing, which Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam defended Friday as a way to detect new variants theres no reason that should delay even for a second anyone who isnt selected for it.

But in any event, the problem exists. The federal government admits it. (Only three per cent of all passengers at Pearson and Vancouver International Airport are now waiting more than 30 minutes in line, Transport Canadaclaimed in a press releasethis week, which may be true, but is transparent statistical tomfoolery: Why combine Vancouver, which has escaped this problem relatively unscathed, with Pearson, which is Chaos Central, except to downplay the chaos?)

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Surely by now we all understand that were not going to stop COVID at the border. And using mandates as a shove to get people vaccinated, which was defensible in my view, has surely run its course: Daily second-dose delivery nationwide averaged out at just under 500,000 in June last year. As of Thursday, the number was just 1,100.

Punitive, the word Kusie used, seems very apropos and not just to travellers, but to a struggling industry. I might well already have booked a flight to London this summer were it not for the horror stories in the British press of people being told not to arrive more than three hours before their flights, only to find five-hour queues on arrival. No thank you. Others may well be thinking the same about Toronto and Canada in general.

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Adam van Koeverden, parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, rose to answer Kusies questions. Or rather, not.

Mr. Speaker, let me first start by thanking our health-care workers who have sacrificed so much over the last couple of years, he began. Vaccines remain an important tool in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and variants, he added later. At no point before grinning, adjusting his bow tie and taking his seat with a distinct air of triumph did he come anywhere near answering the question.

Clip that for the nightly news and non-partisan Canadians with a wanderlust are likely to see a government thats simply contemptuous of their concerns. Indeed, there arereportsthat a huge number of Liberal MPs are getting tired of this situation, and would prefer to see Ottawa back off on these restrictions, like most of our peer nations. So unserious is this government that its easy to imagine the main reason party leadership doesnt want to back off is that they dont want to be seen agreeing with those proto-human Conservatives.

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Luckily, as a fallback, they can turn on their heel just before a summer weekend. News broke Friday afternoon that the feds would temporarily suspend random on-arrival testing which Tam had soberly defended as essential just that morning until it could be re-established off-site. It is a direct admission that their critics are right: Liberal policies are clogging up Canadas biggest airport for an inessential reason.

Such is the glorious life of a Liberal: You can make as big a scene as you want defending the indefensible until the exact moment that you change your mind, and never have to answer for it. Why people would vote for a party with such a bloody terrible attitude toward Canadas hoi polloi is a question scientists and public health officials have not yet been able to answer.

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Chris Selley: It's possible the Liberals are now just punishing air travellers out of spite - National Post