OTTAWA, ON- Matt Jeneroux, the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Riverbend, released the following statement after the NDP-Liberal government doubled- down on delays caused by outdated COVID-19 protocols at airports:

“The NDP-Liberal government voted against our common-sense motion that would have returned to pre-pandemic rules and service levels for travel, and helped end the delays we’re seeing at airports across the country.

“As Canadian travelers are being subject to extreme delays, line-ups, bottlenecks, and missed connections because of unnecessary protocols, our allies across the world, including the European Union and the United States, have loosened rules for passengers on flights and in airports.

“Airports have directly cited the Liberals’ policies as the reason for these delays, as processing times for international arriving passengers have increased by two-to-four times – sometimes taking longer than two minutes.

“Industry experts from a wide range of disciplines are calling on the government to drop travel restrictions. These restrictions have many impacts on Canadian travel times, our economy, and the country’s international reputation.

“After two long years of the pandemic, Canadians are finally looking to return to normalcy and begin travelling again. Unfortunately, the NDP-Liberal government continues to cling to outdated and unnecessary protocols that are exacerbating delays.

“Conservatives will continue to advocate for common-sense solutions to prevent these unacceptable delays at our airports, and to get our aviation, tourism, and business sectors back on track. We will continue to hold the NDP-Liberal government to account for these unacceptable delays.”

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