The end of random border testing can't come soon enough for many travellers

The federal government's pandemic border measures — including random testing for vaccinated travellers — could be coming to an end soon. It might not be soon enough for many travellers and tourism operators.

Sources told CBC News that the government is likely to end all of the measures in the near term and the final decision is awaiting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approval. The measures were set to expire on Sept. 30.

Cathy Pudlewski said she had such a terrible experience after being tapped for a random test that she could only compare it to "being almost harassed."

The 73-year-old from Lancaster, New York said she was crossing the border to nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. to see a play in mid-August when she was told she would need to complete a test and was handed a testing kit.

"When I opened it up, I said, 'Oh my God, what is this? What the heck?'" she said.

Pudlewski said she was so overwhelmed by the complex instructions that she asked a local pharmacy to schedule a virtual testing appointment to take place after the play ended.

"I couldn't enjoy [the play] one minute," she said.

She said she was on the verge of tears as she took the test in the theatre lobby with help from an employee. After completing the test, she said, she learned she would have to drive to another city — St. Catharine's — to drop the test in a FedEx box. She said the ordeal added three hours to her trip.

Pudlewski said that, since she was in Canada only for the day and wouldn't learn her results until after she got home, the idea that she was protecting Canadians is "preposterous."

"I am all for vaccinations and keeping everyone safe and healthy, but this is beyond the pale," Pudlewski said, adding that she won't be coming back to Canada until the random testing requirement is dropped.

It's a refrain that tourism operators have been hearing from a number of visitors, said Laurie Marcil, executive director of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario.

"We are hearing from guests that they won't be back because it's been such a negative experience," she said of visitors who have been selected for random tests.

Marcil, whose organization represents tourism operators in Northern Ontario, said the process is particularly onerous in remote locations where the cell service needed to register for a test is spotty, and courier locations are few and far between.

She said some of her members have taken it upon themselves to help guests register and arrange for couriers to pick up tests — things she said they shouldn't have to do.