Protecting Our Borders

While steady progress has been made through Ontario’s border testing pilot program, more action at the borders is needed now to stop the spread of COVID-19

Ontario is making significant progress in its free border testing pilot program at Toronto Pearson International Airport for eligible travellers arriving in Ontario.

Since the launch of the border testing pilot program, over 6,800 tests have been collected at Pearson Airport as of January 24. A majority of these tests are negative, with 2.26 per cent of these tests detecting positive cases.

Despite Ontario’s steady progress with border testing, our government is calling on the federal government to take further action to protect the border, including mandatory testing of all incoming international passengers, a temporary ban on direct flights from countries where new variants are detected, and strengthening enforcement of quarantine measures.

“While we’ve made steady progress through this pilot program, thousands of people continue to pass through Pearson every week without being tested, creating a real risk to all Ontarians,” said Doug Ford, MPP for Etobicoke North and Premier of Ontario. “That’s why, in addition to pre-departure testing, we’re asking the federal government to adopt mandatory testing upon arrival for all international travellers and impose a temporary ban on flights coming from countries where new COVID-19 strains are being detected. Until vaccines are widely available, we all need to do our part to stop the spread of this virus and that means tighter controls at our border.”