Government Relations Report Ron Steeves First Vice-President During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Snowbird Association’s government relations efforts have focused onmaintaining a dialogue with Canadian and American government officials and agencies regarding the restriction against non-essential travel at the land border. CSA representatives are ensuring that the concerns of our members are heard during this international crisis. The association also continues to work on our upcoming legal challenge against the Ontario government for terminating the Out-of-Country (OOC) Travellers Program, which previously provided reimbursement to Ontario residents faced with medical emergencies outside of the country. CSA members continue to inquire as to when the land border between Canada and the United States will open to non-essential travel. While, at the time of writing, the current restrictions at the land border have been put in place until September 21, in all likelihood these measures will be extended. We understand the frustration of our members, particularly those who are full-time RVers and for whom flying into the United States is not an option which they can exercise. The situation at the land border is being assessed on a daily basis by public health professionals in both countries. Once we have more concrete information about the current restrictions and when they will be lifted, we will provide it to members as quickly as possible. While the United States Congress negotiates a bipartisan stimulus package in response to the economic impact of the pandemic stateside, consideration of our Canadian Retiree Visa proposal will likely be postponed during this current Congressional session. As you know, the association has been working on increasing the length of time that retired Canadians are permitted to spend in the United States for leisure purposes from six to eight months. CSA representatives will ensure that our Canadian Snowbird Visa Act is reintroduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate when the next session of Congress begins in early 2021. The results of the upcoming 2020 general election and the new composition of the House and Senate will inform our government relations strategy going forward. Over the past few months, CSA staff have been conducting research for the eighth edition of the Canadian Travellers’ Report Card. Our Canadian Travellers’ Report Card, which the association publishes every two years, provides detailed information about every province and territory’s travel and health-related policies. The categories we examine include the preservation of health coverage, meaning how long residents are permitted to be outside of their home province or territory and still maintain access to their government health insurance plan. We also analyze access to emergency health coverage when abroad, which is the amount that provincial and territorial governments reimburse, if any, for medical emergencies that occur outside of Canada, as well as provincial and territorial drug plan vacation supply policies. The last two issues that we cover in our report are access to voting rights for travellers and the availability of government information, meaning how accessible do the provinces and territories make the information addressing these various policies. We will be giving each provincial and territorial government the opportunity to respond to the information that we have compiled and will include in our report any additional details which they provide. As always, the CSA will be utilizing the services of a thirdparty to grade each province and territory on the categories that we examine. The most notable change which will be highlighted in this edition of our report card is the Ontario government’s cancellation of out-of-country insurance coverage, which came into effect on January 1, 2020. Ontario is the only province in Canada not to provide residents with reimbursement for medical emergencies outside of the country. This is a clear violation of both federal law in theCanada Health Act, as well as provincial law in the OntarioHealth Insurance Act. As I mentioned in my last column, the CSA’s legal action against the Ontario government is scheduled to be heard by a judicial panel of the Ontario Divisional Court at the end of August. Once we receive the court’s decision, we will distribute a member advisory via e-mail providing details on the result. Once again, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of our members who donated to our Special Action Fund. This crucial legal action would not be possible without your generosity. CSANews | FALL 2020 | 13
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