Canada will remove all Covid-19 restrictions for inbound travellers from October 1, including testing, quarantine and isolation requirements, the government announced on Monday.
From Saturday, travellers, regardless of citizenship, will no longer need to submit health information through the ArriveCAN app or provide proof of vaccination.
The official requirement for travellers to wear masks on planes and trains will also be dropped, although the government is still encouraging people to do so. Canada will also welcome cruise passengers back without regulations.
The decision comes as infection and hospitalisation rates across the country have continued to decline and vaccination rates continue to rise.
“As the pandemic situation has continued to evolve, adjustments to border measures have been informed by the latest evidence, available data, operational considerations and the epidemiological situation, both in Canada and internationally,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said, in a statement.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s Minister of Health, said: “Thanks largely to Canadians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, we have reached the point where we can safely lift the sanitary measures at the border.
“However, we expect Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses will continue to circulate over the cold months, so I encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with their Covid-19 vaccination, including booster doses, and exercise individual public health measures.
“I also thank the dedicated public health officers and frontline staff at our land borders and airports who have worked tirelessly to protect the health and safety of people in Canada for the two years.”
Travellers who have entered Canada in the 14 days before October 1 will not be required to complete the remainder of their quarantine or isolation after Saturday, or complete their testing requirements.
For Canadians whose lives straddle the US border, the lifting of the restrictions is welcome news.
“I think it's more than about time that it was removed as a border-crossing requirement,” said Robin Smith, a resident of Standstead, Quebec, a small community that borders the US town of Derby Line.
The pandemic has been especially disruptive to Canadian border communities, where life often revolves around the ability to cross easily into the US.
Ms Smith, who grew up in Standstead but lived much of her adult life over the border in the US, moved back to Canada during the pandemic because travel restrictions made it difficult for her to visit her elderly parents.
While she has been able to use the ArriveCan application to enter the country, she said many in the community have struggled.
“I think it's been terribly discriminating against elderly folks, low-income people, people who aren't up to date with all the tech, you know, which — that's a lot of people,” Ms Smith told The National.
“A terrible burden is being lifted.”
The government’s Covid-19 restrictions sparked massive protests across the country earlier this year.
Hundreds of lorry drivers descended on Ottawa in February, parking their big rigs in the middle of the city and bringing the capital to a grinding halt for weeks.
Tens of thousands joined the lorry drivers in Ottawa to protest against what they believed to be excessive measures that infringed on their civil liberties.
Benita Pedersen travelled from Alberta to Ottawa for the so-called Freedom Convoy.
She said the lifting of the travel restrictions is “a step in the right direction” but that it was “not enough”.
“All of the individuals responsible for imposing and enforcing these restrictions need to be held to account,” she told The National.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the rarely used Emergencies Act during the protests, which gave the federal government extraordinary powers to freeze the bank accounts of some of the demonstrators.
While the restrictions may have been lifted, resentment over the policy remains.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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