Covid Lockdown, Canada Entry Ban & PR obligations !!

[Copingwithlife]

Yes I'm almost assuming this is going to be in place for minimum 4-5 months or at least until a significant portion of Canadians are vaccinated AND cases in India come down to very low levels. Currently they are expecting a peak of 500,000 cases a day by mid-May.
I don't know the legal implications of this - if Canadian citizens are prevented from coming back to the country, is there a fundamental citizenship rights violation? It's a bit extreme.

Bit extreme ? You’re kidding , right ?
It’s time for people to be held accountable for THEIR decision to leave this country during this bloody pandemic that’s being going on for OVER a year
Once again, two things this pandemic has shown time and time again;
Individuals have shown to be mind numbingly indifferent to the situation at hand, and self centred

 

[canuck78]

Yes I'm almost assuming this is going to be in place for minimum 4-5 months or at least until a significant portion of Canadians are vaccinated AND cases in India come down to very low levels. Currently they are expecting a peak of 500,000 cases a day by mid-May.
I don't know the legal implications of this - if Canadian citizens are prevented from coming back to the country, is there a fundamental citizenship rights violation? It's a bit extreme.

Canada has been very clear that one should not travel. If you travelled you assumed the risks. If you can reach Canada's borders you can enter. They haven't blocked citizens from entering Canada but have made it more difficult.

 

[amusingfirefly]

Bit extreme ? You’re kidding , right ?
It’s time for people to be held accountable for THEIR decision to leave this country during this bloody pandemic that’s being going on for OVER a year
Once again, two things this pandemic has shown time and time again;
Individuals have shown to be mind numbingly indifferent to the situation at hand, and self centred

No I'm not kidding. I think your anger is reasonable as the vast majority of people traveling at the moment are doing so for non-essential reasons. You are saying everyone that is traveling is indifferent and self-centred. That is what I disagree with. There are a small minority of travellers that are traveling due to emergencies in health or family. You can't assume those people are assholes that have no regard for others. Personally I had to travel for family and health reasons that I couldn't avoid anymore. I decided to travel after talking to my doctors in Canada as well so I have no regrets. Absolutely, I knew the risks and being stuck here was a definite possibility, but a remote one.

 

[amusingfirefly]

Canada has been very clear that one should not travel. If you travelled you assumed the risks. If you can reach Canada's borders you can enter. They haven't blocked citizens from entering Canada but have made it more difficult.

I agree, I did assume the risks and have no regrets. And you're right about the citizens being able to enter, albeit with more difficulty.

 

[scylla]

Yes I'm almost assuming this is going to be in place for minimum 4-5 months or at least until a significant portion of Canadians are vaccinated AND cases in India come down to very low levels. Currently they are expecting a peak of 500,000 cases a day by mid-May.
I don't know the legal implications of this - if Canadian citizens are prevented from coming back to the country, is there a fundamental citizenship rights violation? It's a bit extreme.

You would be best to check with a lawyer but IMO there is no violation of citizenship rights. There were several halts on flights to countries last year due to rising case numbers (and in the interest of public safety) and this wasn't challenged in court. You still have the right to enter Canada which is one of the fundamental citizenship rights.

IMO your best bet is to find a way home through transiting through a third country that still allows flights from India. You will need to take a PCR test there and it's possible you may end up having to quarantine in that country for 10-14 days (if PCR testing is not available within the airport). But I think that's your best bet. This is being discussed in various threads on this forum. We know Maldives is now out. Some people are talking about Turkey but I'm not sure there's PCR testing at the airport so that may mean you need to enter the country and quarantine there for 10-14 days before traveling on to Canada. I think others where talking about Abu Dhabi. Of course some of these routes may start shutting down if further countries institute a ban so I wouldn't wait too long if you want to try this vs. waiting.

The situation in India is absolutely tragic.

Good luck sorting out your situation and getting back.

 

[scylla]

I agree, I did assume the risks and have no regrets. And you're right about the citizens being able to enter, albeit with more difficulty.

See the thread here. There are alternate routes to Canada being discussed here through transit through a third country.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...-india-and-pakistan-for-30-days.729724/page-5

 

[amusingfirefly]

You would be best to check with a lawyer but IMO there is no violation of citizenship rights. There were several halts on flights to countries last year due to rising case numbers (and in the interest of public safety) and this wasn't challenged in court. You still have the right to enter Canada which is one of the fundamental citizenship rights.

IMO your best bet is to find a way home through transiting through a third country that still allows flights from India. You will need to take a PCR test there and it's possible you may end up having to quarantine in that country for 10-14 days (if PCR testing is not available within the airport). But I think that's your best bet. This is being discussed in various threads on this forum. We know Maldives is now out. Some people are talking about Turkey but I'm not sure there's PCR testing at the airport so that may mean you need to enter the country and quarantine there for 10-14 days before traveling on to Canada. I think others where talking about Abu Dhabi. Of course some of these routes may start shutting down if further countries institute a ban so I wouldn't wait too long if you want to try this vs. waiting.

The situation in India is absolutely tragic.

Good luck sorting out your situation and getting back.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I also checked out the other thread you linked - thanks for that. I wonder why US is not seen as a viable option in the other thread, but I am guessing it is because most of the students don't have US visas. Now the gov't has actually banned students from coming explicitly. As for myself, I will decide what to do based on how much risk I can tolerate.

 

[scylla]

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I also checked out the other thread you linked - thanks for that. I wonder why US is not seen as a viable option in the other thread, but I am guessing it is because most of the students don't have US visas. Now the gov't has actually banned students from coming explicitly. As for myself, I will decide what to do based on how much risk I can tolerate.

Mostly because it was expected the US would follow suit and also restrict flights from India. Which is exactly what has happened. It was announced today that the US will start restricting flights from India effective Tuesday.

 

[kathysrazor]

Bit extreme ? You’re kidding , right ?
It’s time for people to be held accountable for THEIR decision to leave this country during this bloody pandemic that’s being going on for OVER a year

For Canadians, the charter protects mobility Rights - the right to enter in, remain, and leave Canada, and to seek employment and housing in all provinces.

If there’s one thing this pandemic has shown, it’s that people and governments are willing to trample rights if they think they have a good reason to do so.

 

[kathysrazor]

As for maintaining status when being slightly over the PR obligation due to COVID, procedural fairness still requires considering the entirety of the applicants application, including H&C concerns.

An inability to return (due to things like border restrictions, or the need to care for others, etc.), coupled with near-compliance with the law and a demonstrated attempt to comply as much as reasonable, can lead to a strong H&C case.