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Canadian travel to the US or other countries C-19 What’s up?

moonstone

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They are not just in Alberta, but as I mentioned in a previous post they are in Ontario as well. We saw NY & PA license plated vehicles in Orillia ON in the last 2 weeks and passed a MI plated car on Hwy 11 near Orillia last week. There are quite a few Americans with cottages in the Muskoka area (just north of us) so maybe they were allowed across the border -who knows. I hope the RCMP in Alberta catches up with the dishonest tourists.


~Diane
 

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I was just reading about some people who live in Canmore Alberta (very near Banff) who got talking to an American couple dining at the table next to them at a restaurant patio. The conversation got around to how the couple from Texas were able to get into Canada at this time. The couple said they had planned this vacation in the Rockies for a long time and didn't want "some stupid virus" get in their way. When they got to the US/Canada border they told officials they were driving to Alaska to check on elderly relatives. They were told to drive straight there with minimal and essential stopping only. Of course they had no intention of going to Alaska and were not quarantining themselves after their arrival last week. :doh: Thanks guys, this is how the virus will continue to spread!:mad:

~Diane

Customs fault and all the way up to the prime minister for allowing Americans to drive to Alaska. Tell them to take a boat or fly. But par for the course. Abuse is very easy. Probably if caught just a slap on the wrist.
 

SmithOp

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It will be interesting to see what happens in 6 months when the winter birds start heading south.

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Tacoma

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It does not matter if it is Americans coming up to Canada or Canadians going south for the winter. So far though we only have stories of US citizens using the I am driving up to Alaska loophole. The border is CLOSED to all non essential travel. I am hoping that anyone who lies to a customs official on either side of the border will see strict punishments. My family has been following the rules and would like to be able to get back to some form of normal as quickly as possible. This is not strictly an American or Canadian problem it is an I'm more important than anyone else problem. Too bad there is so much of that going around.
 

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It will be interesting to see what happens in 6 months when the winter birds start heading south.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

I own an HGVC timeshare. There are NO HGVC timeshares in Canada and very few comparable RCI resorts. Our March trip to Florida was cancelled. Our next booking is in Florida at the beginning of December. Right now I cannot even use my timeshare ownership even if I wanted to, because the border is closed and I can't get to them. That is unfortunate, but I can live with it if it helps keep myself, my family and others safe.

If it is not safe to do so, or the border is still closed in 6 months, I will not be going to Florida or anywhere else in the USA. And I will not be lying to some US CBP officer, if I can find some "loophole" in order to do so. Are there some here who might? Probably. But just like these few Americans, I suspect they are a small minority. They seem to be a group of pampered, overly self-entitled, "I don't care about anyone but myself" type of tourist, that has never had to sacrifice or give up anything in their lives for more than 15 minutes!

They seem to think it is OK to lie, as long as they get their "vacation". I hope anyone from either side of the border, who thinks the rules should not apply to them, gets caught and doesn't just get a "slap on the wrist". The rest of us are fed up with that type of self-centred attitude. I will now step down off my soapbox. (n)(n)(n)
 
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jabberwocky

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I own an HGVC timeshare. There are NO HGVC timeshares in Canada and very few comparable RCI resorts. Our March trip to Florida was cancelled. Our next booking is in Florida at the beginning of December. Right now I cannot even use my timeshare ownership even if I wanted to, because the border is closed and I can't get to them. That is unfortunate, but I can live with it if it helps keep myself, my family and others safe.

If it is not safe to do so, or the border is still closed in 6 months, I will not be going to Florida or anywhere else in the USA. And I will not be lying to some US CBP officer, if I can find some "loophole" in order to do so. Are there some here who might? Probably.

You do realize that you can FLY to the US if you are a Canadian. The Americans only closed the land borders (which includes ferries and rail). Problem is finding reasonable flights - but the closure isn’t as tight as what is being portrayed in the media. I guess this is a loophole. You still have to quarantine on return for 14 days which might kill it for many people.
 

jabberwocky

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They are not just in Alberta, but as I mentioned in a previous post they are in Ontario as well. We saw NY & PA license plated vehicles in Orillia ON in the last 2 weeks and passed a MI plated car on Hwy 11 near Orillia last week. There are quite a few Americans with cottages in the Muskoka area (just north of us) so maybe they were allowed across the border -who knows. I hope the RCMP in Alberta catches up with the dishonest tourists.
We should be careful about profiling people based on their license plates. There are plenty of Canadian citizens living in the US who have the right to enter Canada.
 

moonstone

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We should be careful about profiling people based on their license plates. There are plenty of Canadian citizens living in the US who have the right to enter Canada.

Yes, I agree. I have family (Canadian citizens) living in California, that own a vacation property up here so I suppose they could drive up to stay in it if they wanted. This afternoon on my walk around our block I saw a car with NY license plates pull into my new neighbour's driveway. The children living in the house seemed to be excited about the arrival of the visitors, running around and squealing. Within an hour I could see more cars and about 12-15 people standing, not social distancing & no masks on anybody, on the front lawn. Hopefully everybody stays healthy as there are new positive Covid test results every day around here.

~Diane
 

moonstone

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I own an HGVC timeshare. There are NO HGVC timeshares in Canada and very few comparable RCI resorts. Our March trip to Florida was cancelled. Our next booking is in Florida at the beginning of December. Right now I cannot even use my timeshare ownership even if I wanted to, because the border is closed and I can't get to them. That is unfortunate, but I can live with it if it helps keep myself, my family and others safe.

If it is not safe to do so, or the border is still closed in 6 months, I will not be going to Florida or anywhere else in the USA. And I will not be lying to some US CBP officer, if I can find some "loophole" in order to do so. Are there some here who might? Probably. But just like these few Americans, I suspect they are a small minority. They seem to be a group of pampered, overly self-entitled, "I don't care about anyone but myself" type of tourist, that has never had to sacrifice or give up anything in their lives for more than 15 minutes!

They seem to think it is OK to lie, as long as they get their "vacation". I hope anyone from either side of the border, who thinks the rules should not apply to them, get caught and don't just get a "slap on the wrist". The rest of us are fed up with that type of self-centred attitude. I will now step down off my soapbox. (n)(n)(n)

We also have a reservation at our home resort in Florida for this fall (Nov.1) and hoped to add a 2nd week after that but we are holding off booking that 2nd week in case we cant go down at all. We also have an RCI Points exchange booked for the end of September in Virginia and are expecting that might be cancelled as well. If we cant cross the border we will likely take our camping trailer and go somewhere around here for a week or two. There is no way we would lie, or even stretch the truth, to any border guard of any country, it just isn't worth it. We vacation a lot in the USA and don't want to risk getting our entry banned.


~Diane
 

CanuckTravlr

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@jabberwocky

Yes, I am aware that I can fly to the US, but there are no direct flights to anywhere near the resort. In any case, the whole point of going to a timeshare or condo rental on the eastern seaboard, is so that we can drive there. No airport hassles, constant lining up, going through security, lugging baggage, arranging a rental vehicle, et cetera. Plus, we get to use our own car and take whatever we want that will allow us to be comfortable for a multi-week stay.

In any case, right now there is not a chance in h*** that as a senior I will get on a potentially crowded aircraft for 3 hours or more, or go through multiple airports, at least not until there is someway of controlling this virus. Just not worth the risk, IMO. So if we can't drive there, we aren't going. In the car we also don't have to wear a mask while travelling, at least not until we have to get out near someone else.

We have no problem with the 14-day quarantine upon return, since we don't just go for a few days. My wife and I have been effectively quarantined for over 3 months now already. I have not spent 3 months not going further than the pharmacy once a month to blow it for the sake of a vacation. For us at least, vacations are a want, not a need. When we were much younger there were lots of years we could not take a non-local vacation. We can do it again, if necessary.
 
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jabberwocky

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@CanuckTravlr

I completely respect and understand your reasons for not wanting to fly. I was merely pointing out that there are some ways to cross the US border so it’s not necessarily impossible to use a US timeshare.

Personally I agree with you - I’d be much more comfortable driving across the border to a timeshare in Montana (new cases today: 8), than I would be to fly to Toronto, Orlando or San Diego.
 

moonstone

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From a CBC News story (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-u-s-border-rules-and-restrictions-covid-19-travel-1.5619268) about American tourists in Banff that I mentioned in an earlier post.
"RCMP said officers fined seven Americans this week who were supposed to be driving straight to Alaska, but instead were caught taking in the sights at Banff National Park. The fines, issued under the Alberta Health Act, were for $1,200 each. "

Good! Hopefully they escorted them to the border!


~Diane
 

am1

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From a CBC News story (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-u-s-border-rules-and-restrictions-covid-19-travel-1.5619268) about American tourists in Banff that I mentioned in an earlier post.
"RCMP said officers fined seven Americans this week who were supposed to be driving straight to Alaska, but instead were caught taking in the sights at Banff National Park. The fines, issued under the Alberta Health Act, were for $1,200 each. "

Good! Hopefully they escorted them to the border!


~Diane
Deportation and a ban for lying to immigration officer upon entry would have fit the crime better.
 

jabberwocky

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From a CBC News story (https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-u-s-border-rules-and-restrictions-covid-19-travel-1.5619268) about American tourists in Banff that I mentioned in an earlier post.
"RCMP said officers fined seven Americans this week who were supposed to be driving straight to Alaska, but instead were caught taking in the sights at Banff National Park. The fines, issued under the Alberta Health Act, were for $1,200 each. "

~Diane

Not sure on the exact exchange rate - but with current exchange rates that's a bargain for not having to quarantine. ;)

My guess is that they will skip out on the payment - pretty difficult to collect on out of country visitors.
 

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Only the unreasonable would be offended by what you said. We live in Texas and you certainly didn't offend me - because what you said has a lot of validity to it. I cannot believe the number of people that go without masks here in Texas. They seem to have no concern about anyone but themselves and it's upsetting. The mayor of our county just worked around Governor Abbott and we are now required to wear masks when we go into businesses, etc., so hopefully that will help. We have been wearing masks since the beginning but a lot of people haven't. I don't understand the mentality of that. I get that no one wants to live in fear and we certainly don't, but we are being cautious. Not only for ourselves but for others as well. A lot of people here on TUG know that our daughter came within hours of dying from H1N1 in 2011. I never want to willfully be responsible for someone else or their parents going through what we went through during that time. If I have to wear a mask for the rest of my life to try to prevent that, I will.

Sorry for anyone from Texas who I may have offended.
 

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My guess is that they will skip out on the payment - pretty difficult to collect on out of country visitors.
Agreements between Canada and US states allow for collection enforcement of gov’t issued fines and penalties. I am not in the know about these particular fines but there will likely be enforceable collection actions if they choose to ignore the fines. Many Canadians are have also been under the false assumption that fines Received in the US are not collectible, until they get a notice their license is suspended for failing to pay a speeding ticket obtained when driving in a US state.
 

sue1947

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Agreements between Canada and US states allow for collection enforcement of gov’t issued fines and penalties. I am not in the know about these particular fines but there will likely be enforceable collection actions if they choose to ignore the fines. Many Canadians are have also been under the false assumption that fines Received in the US are not collectible, until they get a notice their license is suspended for failing to pay a speeding ticket obtained when driving in a US state.

Plus they have to get back across the border.
 

moonstone

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I just got a fb message from my friend who lives in Edmonton AB. She & her DH are camping this weekend in an Alberta Provincial Park near Jasper (north of Banff) and when they got to the campground office they noticed the big 5th wheel stopped in front of them had its license plates turned around backwards. While my friend's DH went into the office to register she got her dog out (so as to not appear too nosey) and walked over for a closer look. Vivien could see that the license plate was a Texas one and when she walked up so she could see the back of the pick-up truck, it had its plate turned around as well and was also a Texas one! The owner came out of the office just then but she didn't want to confront him. Vivien went into the park office and told her DH and Park Ranger what she saw and the Ranger said "Oh no again"! They saw the ranger make a phone call as they were leaving the office.
After our friends got unhooked and set up, Denis went up to the office to buy some firewood and there was an RCMP cruiser parked at the office and an officer in talking to the Park Ranger. I guess some more arrogant Texans are getting a fine and hopefully escorted back to the border. SMH


~Diane
 

Luanne

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I just got a fb message from my friend who lives in Edmonton AB. She & her DH are camping this weekend in an Alberta Provincial Park near Jasper (north of Banff) and when they got to the campground office they noticed the big 5th wheel stopped in front of them had its license plates turned around backwards. While my friend's DH went into the office to register she got her dog out (so as to not appear too nosey) and walked over for a closer look. Vivien could see that the license plate was a Texas one and when she walked up so she could see the back of the pick-up truck, it had its plate turned around as well and was also a Texas one! The owner came out of the office just then but she didn't want to confront him. Vivien went into the park office and told her DH and Park Ranger what she saw and the Ranger said "Oh no again"! They saw the ranger make a phone call as they were leaving the office.
After our friends got unhooked and set up, Denis went up to the office to buy some firewood and there was an RCMP cruiser parked at the office and an officer in talking to the Park Ranger. I guess some more arrogant Texans are getting a fine and hopefully escorted back to the border. SMH


~Diane
Since they had turned the license plates around so they couldn't be seen it should be pretty obvious they knew they were doing something wrong.
 

jabberwocky

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Agreements between Canada and US states allow for collection enforcement of gov’t issued fines and penalties. I am not in the know about these particular fines but there will likely be enforceable collection actions if they choose to ignore the fines. Many Canadians are have also been under the false assumption that fines Received in the US are not collectible, until they get a notice their license is suspended for failing to pay a speeding ticket obtained when driving in a US state.

Not all provinces have reciprocity agreements with US states. Alberta doesn't have agreements on traffic violations or fines with US states to my knowledge (I know Ontario and Quebec do have some limited ones). Heck, we don't have a Canada-wide reciprocity agreement between provinces on traffic violations!
 

moonstone

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Not all provinces have reciprocity agreements with US states. Alberta doesn't have agreements on traffic violations or fines with US states to my knowledge (I know Ontario and Quebec do have some limited ones). Heck, we don't have a Canada-wide reciprocity agreement between provinces on traffic violations!

Yes, I cant find any information on Alberta and reciprocal agreements, unlike Ontario which has many. I have heard from friends & family in Alberta that the RCMP are somehow tying the fines to the offenders passport and if they haven't paid the fine during their stay in Alberta they will be required to pay it before entering Canada the next time. I can't find proof of that anywhere but it sounds like a good idea.


~Diane
 

PcflEZFlng

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After our friends got unhooked and set up, Denis went up to the office to buy some firewood and there was an RCMP cruiser parked at the office and an officer in talking to the Park Ranger. I guess some more arrogant Texans are getting a fine and hopefully escorted back to the border. SMH
~Diane
Good.
 

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