Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Accounts of trips taken in Boston Whaler boats; organization of rendezvous for Boston Whaler boats
jimh
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Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby jimh » Thu Jun 10, 2021 3:02 pm

Regarding entry into Canada by boat, I visited this page of the Government of Canada on June 10, 2021 for information:

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/pb-pp-eng.html

There I found the following terse summary:

COVID-19 Notice
Foreign national boaters are not permitted to enter Canadian waters unless exempted. Failure to comply with the current prohibition of entry for discretionary or optional reasons (leisure, pleasure fishing, sightseeing, etc.) may result in severe monetary penalties or criminal conviction and/or imprisonment. Visit Transit through Canadian waters for more information.


Considering the possibility of being convicted as a criminal and imprisoned, my enthusiasm for visiting Canada has been greatly reduced.

On the other page referenced above, I found the following.

Transit through Canadian waters
You currently cannot enter Canadian waters for optional reasons, such as:
  • touring
  • sightseeing
  • pleasure fishing

You may still navigate through international or Canadian waters while in transit directly from one place outside Canada to another place outside Canada, if the transit is:
  • direct
  • continuous/uninterrupted
  • by the most reasonable route


I am further worried that if I strayed over the border on the water, then making a U-turn to immediately exit Canadian water would NOT meet the above listed criteria.

Jefecinco
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby Jefecinco » Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:48 am

ASIDE: while stationed in Nekoma, ND we often traveled to Winnipeg, Canada for the weekend to get away from the lack of entertainment in ND. This was in 1975 and at that time I never felt particularly welcome in Canada.
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jimh
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby jimh » Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:00 am

ASIDE:

Jefecinco wrote:While stationed in Nekoma, ND we often traveled to Winnipeg, Canada for the weekend to get away from the lack of entertainment in ND. This was in 1975 and at that time I never felt particularly welcome in Canada.


You probably should have bought a Winnipeg JETS hockey sweater and worn that. It would have likely been a door-opener for you. In 1975 the JETS were a new team in the upstart World Hockey League, trying to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL). If you had bought a Bobby Hull early Winnipeg JETS sweater, it would have be a collector's item now.

I find Ontario, Canada be to generally welcoming. The demographics of the population there has become very diverse compared to what it was in the 1980's when I first visited. Most of the folks in northern Great Lakes Canada then were of Scottish descent, complete with some Scottish accents.

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Don McIntyre - MI
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby Don McIntyre - MI » Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:24 pm

I've not heard of anyone being stopped on the St. Clair River, northbound on the Canadian side in my area.

jimh
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby jimh » Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:26 am

Keeping to the right in a narrow waterway in which there is an international border in the center sounds like it qualifies as "the most reasonable route," the threats of criminal prosecution and imprisonment notwithstanding. Maybe it's a case of some old fashioned "Canada-nice" in play.

Don SSDD
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby Don SSDD » Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:40 am

From what I see on news media, I think the border in both directions may open in August or September. Not sure if boating will open at the same time. It also seems that proof of two doses of vaccine of some sort will be needed to do any international travel, without the need to quarantine on entry to a foreign country or a return to your own country.

Around here, a Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, or Detroit Red Wings jersey would get you welcomed or a Red Sox jersey would work too.

All this opening up assumes Covid doesn’t blow up again.
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PeterO
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby PeterO » Tue Jul 20, 2021 12:41 pm

Starting 9-Aug-2021 fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents living in the U.S. will be allowed to visit Canada for non-essential travel without having to quarantine. Canada plans to open borders to vaccinated travellers from other countries 7-Sep-2021.

jimh
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Re: Entry to Canada by Boat in 2021

Postby jimh » Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:59 am

PeterO wrote:Starting 9-Aug-2021 fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents living in the U.S. will be allowed to visit Canada for non-essential travel without having to quarantine...

This sounds like the beginning of the "vaccination passport" documentation. Right now all I have to verify I have been vaccinated is a small card filled-in by pen at a clinic certifying I received doses on certain dates of certain types. It is not a particularly official-looking document.

I wonder if an electronic database of vaccination recipients that could be queried by border authorities is in our futures.