Editor:
My wife and I recently went across the border for the first time in 20 months. We still have a mailbox there because we used to live in the U.S.
We are in our 80s and have been home for the last two years. We are vaccinated, had our booster shot, have our COVID passports and have a Nexus card.
Going into the U.S. was no problem. We only had a 10-minute wait.
“A piece of cake,” we said.
Going back into Canada – after being away for about an hour – was a different story.
We were not asked to show our Nexus card or our COVID-19 passports. Rather, we were asked where we lived, our address, postal code, telephone number and email address.
Then we were asked to show our ArriveCAN document.
We had no idea what he was talking about. We were warned that if we didn’t have that document next time, we would not be allowed in, could expect a fine and wouldn’t be able to ever cross the border again.
Then to top it off, I was selected to receive a COVID-19 kit to administer a test at home.
We delivered the sealed kit to LifeLabs. The next day we received a message that they could not give us the OK because we did not have trained technician who oversaw the procedure. You can imagine how we felt about our quick round-trip to pick up our mail.
This is not the welcome we expect from our own government.
Richard and Betty Oostra, Surrey