BIRD TALK

I’m a CSA member. I get every issue of CSA News. Let me get my two cents in on this “ArriveCan app” issue. This regulation is right out of the Communist Manifesto if I’ve ever seen one. I am a Canadian Vietnam veteran who did four years in the U.S. Marine Corps during the 1960s. I did one tour of combat in Vietnam in 1965. I was the only Canadian in 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Division at that time. I was a cpl E4 weapons plt. Squad Leader. Our outfit was heavily sprayed with agent orange. I now have to go down to Great Falls, Montana once every year for an agent orange screening test, at the USA Veterans Clinic. I’m 81 years old, have never in my life been in trouble with the law. I got one speeding ticket 27 years ago. I have never owned a cell phone; I have never owned a computer. My choice. I have had all of my COVID-19 vaccinations plus two booster vaccinations. I went down for my tests in June 2022. Coming back, I showed all of my COVID-19 vaccination documents. The border officers told me they would let me cross back into Canada this one time without the ArriveCAN app. But next time, without the ArriveCAN app, I will be punished by having to stay at home for 14 days or something like a $5,000.00 fine. Why is our government trying to make me into a criminal? I am an honorable senior and a veteran.

Robert V. Bulmer
Keoma, AB

Ed.: We understand your frustration and don’t have an answer for you. We do acknowledge that once any government starts exercising new powers over you, it is almost always impossible to get them to relinquish them. There should be an alternative available for Canadian citizens who don’t own smart phones.