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Thank goodness my passport is up to date. When the Government of Canada introduced (or perhaps reinstated) the option to get a 10-year rather than a 5-year passport, I went for it. So my current passport is valid until 2026. That means no camping out outside passport offices for several nights on end. And getting OUT of my home country, as long as I have a valid passport, would seem to be the least of my problems!
Getting back home again is another story.
I had no end of problems setting up my account in the online version of ArriveCan. I went through things step by step like the good patient polite Canadian I am. I created the requisite password and waited for my verification code to land in my Inbox. And waited. And waited. I requested a new code. The wait restarted. And continued. Many hours later, I suddenly had 4 or 5 codes in separate messages in my inbox. So I tried using the one that had been sent to me most recently. It didn't like that code either but suggested I request yet another. I did. Then I heard nothing more, either that day or the next.
A few days later, I thought I'd start again. But when I tried to create a new account, it insisted that an account already existed for that e-mail address. OK, I thought, I'll try logging in with the password I'd decided on. It didn't like it and told me to "click here to reset your password". Which generated yet another verification code that the system didn't like.
I looked at the troubleshooting page and learned that they couldn't reply to most queries unless they were submitted on the proper form. So I submitted the form for "Registration problems - Other", outlining my tale of woe. That was weeks ago and I haven't even been accorded the courtesy of a reply. There was also a toll-free number which I jotted down for future reference. I considered that one a last resort, knowing I would probably be kept on hold for hours on end when I definitely had better things to do!
I also found out that deleting my own account was supposedly very simple. I tried to follow their steps, only to find out that there was NO "Settings" tab in the top right-hand (or was it left-hand?) corner with the "delete your account" in a drop-down menu. (I later discovered that you only get that option when you're already logged in - a vicious circle if ever I heard of one!!)
Wanna know how I got myself out of this mess? I set up a new account under an apparently-different e-mail address, which in reality is the same as the one I regularly use. It's an older, long-form version of the same address. I managed to upload my passport information and records of all 4 of my COVID-19 vaccinations. I'll still need to enter the details of my re-entry into Canada, within 72 hours of my anticipated arrival time. I'll still need to find somewhere to print my ArriveCan receipt, probably a business centre within the hotel or somewhere at the conference venue. I just hope that goes much more smoothly, as I'd like to do some sightseeing and conference-going while I'm away, and not spend the entire time trying to arrange how to get home without undue hassle!
It's all so hopelessly ironic. I was born in Ottawa and I've lived here my entire life, except for the time I spent doing my library degree at Western. I'm supportive of public health measures that make sense. I've had my four jabs and use my N95 masks as needed. I do my best to respect other people's space and other health maintenance requirements. I know I'm luckier than many in that way as I'm retired and don't have to go work in crowded venues with unvaccinated and unmasked people or risk losing my benefits. But getting back home from abroad - that's where the feds (for whom I worked loyally for over 33 years) put up all kinds of obstacles in my way.
Is there any hope that they'll see the error of their ways or at least start exercising a little more judgement and discretion in the way they implement the rules? It doesn't look too hopeful:
https://nationalpost.com/news/arrivecan-app-may-stay-as-part-of-larger-border-modernization-mendicinos-comments-suggest
If any of the dissenting voices hold sway, I'm guessing it would be the indigenous folk. But I still consider it a major imposition and maybe even a human rights violation to virtually force all Canadians to interact with their own government via computer and/or smartphone.
Getting back home again is another story.
I had no end of problems setting up my account in the online version of ArriveCan. I went through things step by step like the good patient polite Canadian I am. I created the requisite password and waited for my verification code to land in my Inbox. And waited. And waited. I requested a new code. The wait restarted. And continued. Many hours later, I suddenly had 4 or 5 codes in separate messages in my inbox. So I tried using the one that had been sent to me most recently. It didn't like that code either but suggested I request yet another. I did. Then I heard nothing more, either that day or the next.
A few days later, I thought I'd start again. But when I tried to create a new account, it insisted that an account already existed for that e-mail address. OK, I thought, I'll try logging in with the password I'd decided on. It didn't like it and told me to "click here to reset your password". Which generated yet another verification code that the system didn't like.
I looked at the troubleshooting page and learned that they couldn't reply to most queries unless they were submitted on the proper form. So I submitted the form for "Registration problems - Other", outlining my tale of woe. That was weeks ago and I haven't even been accorded the courtesy of a reply. There was also a toll-free number which I jotted down for future reference. I considered that one a last resort, knowing I would probably be kept on hold for hours on end when I definitely had better things to do!
I also found out that deleting my own account was supposedly very simple. I tried to follow their steps, only to find out that there was NO "Settings" tab in the top right-hand (or was it left-hand?) corner with the "delete your account" in a drop-down menu. (I later discovered that you only get that option when you're already logged in - a vicious circle if ever I heard of one!!)
Wanna know how I got myself out of this mess? I set up a new account under an apparently-different e-mail address, which in reality is the same as the one I regularly use. It's an older, long-form version of the same address. I managed to upload my passport information and records of all 4 of my COVID-19 vaccinations. I'll still need to enter the details of my re-entry into Canada, within 72 hours of my anticipated arrival time. I'll still need to find somewhere to print my ArriveCan receipt, probably a business centre within the hotel or somewhere at the conference venue. I just hope that goes much more smoothly, as I'd like to do some sightseeing and conference-going while I'm away, and not spend the entire time trying to arrange how to get home without undue hassle!
It's all so hopelessly ironic. I was born in Ottawa and I've lived here my entire life, except for the time I spent doing my library degree at Western. I'm supportive of public health measures that make sense. I've had my four jabs and use my N95 masks as needed. I do my best to respect other people's space and other health maintenance requirements. I know I'm luckier than many in that way as I'm retired and don't have to go work in crowded venues with unvaccinated and unmasked people or risk losing my benefits. But getting back home from abroad - that's where the feds (for whom I worked loyally for over 33 years) put up all kinds of obstacles in my way.
Is there any hope that they'll see the error of their ways or at least start exercising a little more judgement and discretion in the way they implement the rules? It doesn't look too hopeful:
https://nationalpost.com/news/arrivecan-app-may-stay-as-part-of-larger-border-modernization-mendicinos-comments-suggest
If any of the dissenting voices hold sway, I'm guessing it would be the indigenous folk. But I still consider it a major imposition and maybe even a human rights violation to virtually force all Canadians to interact with their own government via computer and/or smartphone.
