Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to explain that our government implemented border measures in early 2020 in response to widespread and growing concern in the international community about reports of a new virus identified in China. This was followed by an unprecedented international response to the pandemic.

Throughout the COVID‑19 pandemic, we took a comprehensive and layered approach to border management in a rapidly evolving and highly dynamic environment. This included frequently adapting measures based on available data, operational considerations and scientific evidence, while monitoring the epidemiological situation and the capacity to respond to the pandemic, both in Canada and abroad.

The ArriveCAN solution was launched in April 2020 to facilitate the digital submission of the mandatory public health information that was required of travellers entering Canada. ArriveCAN evolved in step with public health measures at the border to protect Canadians and to limit the importation of the virus and the spread of COVID‑19. Most of all, it was an effort to limit pressure on Canada's health care system. Lastly, it was also an effort to support the resumption of travel. ArriveCAN is a tool that helped facilitate the reopening of our borders, which was essential for Canadian businesses and the national economy.

Let us now talk about how this solution contributed to public health. The introduction of this mandatory system, known as ArriveCAN, was cited by the Auditor General in her December 2021 report as an important factor in improving data quality and, consequently, the Public Health Agency of Canada's ability to promote, review and enforce COVID‑19 border measures.

It is important to note that the data was very important in guiding the government in the direction it should take and in the decisions that should be made by public health officials. More specifically, ArriveCAN enabled the Government of Canada to implement, add, adjust and remove important public health measures, especially at the border. As the pandemic evolved, the situation was, of course, taken into account. As I said, the data from ArriveCAN guided those decisions.

When the app was launched, Canada was recording more than 1,200 COVID-19-related deaths per week. Public health measures at the border helped protect Canadians and limit the importation and spread of COVID-19. These measures also helped ease significant pressure on the Canadian health care system. Data collected through ArriveCAN played a critical role in developing public health advice. It enabled the federal government to monitor, assess and respond to COVID-19 as it evolved.

More specifically, ArriveCAN was an important tool in implementing the border testing program, which was essential in identifying and monitoring the importation of variants of concern from high-risk countries. For example, when the omicron variant was identified in late 2021, data from ArriveCAN was used to identify recent arrivals from countries where omicron was widespread, to facilitate compliance verification and enforcement activities related to border measures and to protect travellers and border control officers by reducing points of contact.

The solution gave all travellers, regardless of their mode of transportation, a digital means of providing the required information in accordance with emergency orders made under the Quarantine Act. This digital solution also made it possible to collect, collate and analyze the information more quickly and efficiently than the initial paper-based process so that traveller health information could be shared with the provinces and territories in a timely manner or in real-time for contact tracing purposes.

As I explained earlier, the app had value for public health, but also for the resumption of international travel and for our economy. It played a vital role in protecting Canadians from the spread of the virus in our country and allowed the economy to reopen within our economic system. In March 2020, all international commercial passenger flights were funnelled to four major airports: Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. The availability and use of ArriveCAN were essential to enable the government to resume international commercial passenger flights at other airports starting in August 2021, with full resumption across Canada by the end of February 2022.

As a result of this solution, the number of travellers entering Canada by air increased regularly, going from roughly 1,000 travellers a day in May 2020, to between 30,000 and 50,000 travellers a day in January 2023, and roughly 1.5 million travellers a month thereafter. ArriveCan really helped to reduce the processing time required by border services officers to support the resumption of international travel.

In conclusion, all the COVID-19-related border measures were lifted on October 1, 2022, including the requirement for travellers entering Canada to submit their public health information using the ArriveCAN app or web site. The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique set of challenges and a need for government intervention and support that had not been seen in more than a generation. In an increasingly interconnected world, many lessons have been learned from this experience and are being integrated into pandemic preparation and response plans, which will help the government adjust its operations, if necessary, and remain well positioned and prepared to respond to future global health events.

Abdelhaq Sari