QUEBEC CITY -- Quebec's premier's wish was granted today with the federal tightening of international travel measures.
As soon as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement at noon, Quebec Premier François Legault quickly posted a tweet to convey his satisfaction.
"I thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the measures he announced on foreign travel. I offer him the full collaboration of the Government of Quebec," wrote Legault on his Twitter account.
He later said the measures were "satisfying." In recent weeks, Legault had repeatedly called publicly on his federal counterpart to ban non-essential foreign travel or to impose a supervised two-week quarantine at a hotel, at each traveller's expense.
The federal government opted for a hybrid formula in the end, with a mandatory three-day hotel quarantine, at the significant expense of up to $2,000, while travellers await the results of COVID tests taken upon their arrival.
The official response from Quebec, however, came not from the premier but rather from Deputy Dremier and Minister of Public Security Geneviève Guilbault.
At a press conference at Quebec's National Assembly, Guilbault described the announcement as "good news" eagerly awaited by Quebec and that it was going "in the direction we wanted."
From here, Quebec plans to "reach out" to the federal government to put the new measures in place and make sure they're a success, Guilbault said.
The minister said that as of Monday, Quebec police officers, including ones from the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force and ones from municipal services, will be equipped to carry out follow-up visits to travelers in quarantine and they will be able to give offenders tickets.
The new rules are a good way to avoid bringing variants of the COVID-19 virus into the country, Guilbault said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2021.
