Opposition leader questions how fast seasonal residents from Ontario are coming to P.E.I.

Opposition leader Peter Bevan-Baker is questioning how quickly the province is allowing seasonal residents from Ontario to come to P.E.I. after he's heard of a few families arriving to the Island soon.

During question period Wednesday, Bevan-Baker said when the province announced it would be allowing cottagers in,the plan was to start with Atlantic Canada, then western Canada and ending with Quebec and Ontario.

"Of course the reason why Ontario and Quebec was last was because there were, and there still are, a high number of new cases being diagnosed in those two provinces," Bevan-Baker said, directing his question to P.E.I. Premier Dennis King.

"How many applications for cottagers from Ontario and Quebec have so far been approved for entry to Prince Edward Island?"

King said about 850 applications in total have been approved so far.

"Whether any of those from Quebec or Ontario were amongst those I will double check with staff. I don't believe that they initially were in the first phase," King said.

"We might be running through the process more quickly. So maybe some are now into Ontario and Quebec," King said, adding he will double check where thedepartment is at.

'Our process has been thorough'

Bevan-Baker said he can provide at least some numbers on how many have been approved from Ontario.

"I've been personally informed of at least five families from Ontario that have already been given authorization to arrive. In fact, they are going to start arriving within the next week.The first family scheduled to arrive on June the 20th. Just three days from now from Ontario," he said.

Bevan-Baker asked King how he doesn't know that cottagers from Ontario are already being approved.

If you're from downtown Toronto where there has been some hotspots that's something we would be checking upon our whole application process. Premier Dennis King

"I'm not actually approving where they come from," King said.

He said there is a "solid" staff and process in place to approve the applications based on when they arrive as well as other factors.

"They may very well have been to a point where some are getting processed," King said. "I would reiterate that our process has been thorough, it has been cautious."

King said every seasonal resident coming to the province is being asked to self-isolate for 14 days and will be tested for COVID-19 at the 10 to 12 day mark.

Staggered approach questioned

Bevan-Baker said Islanders are concerned with seasonal residents coming back to P.E.I. from areas with many COVID-19 cases.

"We've now discovered that this staggered approach means that people from those high-risk areas are coming, yes after the others, but only a matter of days after the others."

Bevan-Baker said initially the province had said cottagers and seasonal residents could apply to come to the Island starting June 1and later the province amended the announcement by saying there would be a phased approach.

"Why do you provide Islanders with this false sense of security if you planned to follow your original plan all along," Bevan-Baker asked King.

King said the plan has always been to bring in a maximum of 500 seasonal residents a week and that number has not yet been reached.

"I think 350 were in the initial 350-360 range, the following week it was 160, the following week was less than 100 and the following week was 66," King said.

King said it is a staggered approach and Ontario is a large province and there are areas where there hasn't been much COVID-19.

"If you're from downtown Toronto where there has been some hotspots that's something we would be checking upon our whole application process," he said.

"It is a staggered approach. And if you would look at the correspondence that I have been receiving from seasonal residents that are eager to get to Prince Edward Island they are frustrated with how staggered the approach is," King said.

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