Canada is now allowing fully vaccinated international travelers to visit Canada for non-essential purposes without having to quarantine. Foreign travelers are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular test and must also use the ArriveCAN app to upload their vaccination details before entering Canada.

The Canadian Border Service Agency will continue to conduct random tests of travelers crossing into Canada. Very few positive cases have come into the country since international travel restrictions began to ease for fully-vaccinated travelers earlier this summer. Since Canadian land borders opened to non-essential travel from the U.S. on August 9th, the positivity rate for randomly selected, fully vaccinated travellers has been just 0.19% despite there being an increase in cases in both Canada and the U.S. this summer. 

CHCO-TV and the St. Stephen Area Chamber of Commerce teamed up to host a "Meet Your Federal Candidates" night at the Garcelon Civic Centre, which premiered on CHCO on September 4th and will be broadcast regularly up until the federal election on September 20th.

All five candidates for the riding of New Brunswick Southwest participated: Jason Hickey 
of the Liberal Party, John Reist of the Green Party, Meryl Sarty of the People's Party of Canada, Richard Warren of the NDP, and incumbent MP John Williamson of the Conservative Party.

The event was a fast-paced Q & A where candidates were asked a series of 12 questions submitted by the public. Questions covered a wide range of topics such as mandatory vaccines, the addiction crisis, climate change, employment insurance and the Campobello Island ferry. I had the pleasure of moderating the 1.5 hour TV special, which you can also find on CHCO's YouTube and Facebook pages.

The Garcelon Civic Centre also played host to Jake Allen, goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, who was in St. Stephen to donate hockey equipment to the area for local kids. Allen spent nine years of his childhood in St. Stephen, attending Milltown Elementary School, and believes the area played an important role in the person he has become, nurturing his hockey career.

The WC O'Neill Arena in St. Andrews was the setting for a welcome home party for 102-year-old Jim Mick-Av-voy. Although he no longer lives in St. Andrews, Mick-Av-voy is still well-known to many locals who knew him when he worked for the Department of Fisheries in an office located above the post office near Market Square. Welcome back, Jim!

Finally, the first-ever dragon boat races at Katy's Cove between the St. Andrews Paddling Club and the staff of the Town of Saint Andrews took place on Saint Andrews Appreciation Day. The Paddling Club is hosting another race day on September 12, this time challenging a team from Saint John. Head over to Katy's Cove between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday to check out the excitement.