Meet the librarian in rural Vermont helping stranded travellers with the ArriveCAN app

SharonEllingwoodWhite says that10 years ago, shewas helping local residents create Facebook accounts.

Nowthe part-time librarian in Canaan, Vt., says she's become the "de-facto"local expertin another must-have app: ArriveCAN, the COVID-19 healthdata entry programthat's mandatory for anyone seeking to enter Canada by motor vehicle or airplane.

"I live it day in and day out," she said.

Canaan is a small rural community tucked in the northeast corner of Vermont, on the border with eastern Quebec.

Three border crossings standclosetoCanaan'sAlice M. Ward Memorial Library, where Ellingwood White has been busy these past few months helping stranded travellers fill out their ArrivecAN info on the app or website.

Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) officers have been recommending travellers turn around and drive fiveminutes to the library or another 15 minutes to the Dunkin' Donuts in Colebrook, N.H.forreasons Ellingwood White says highlighta crucial service gap: The border crossings don't havereliable Wi-Fiorcellphone service, or none at all.

Those connectivityblack holes, which the CBSA acknowledges present"challenges," haveforced motorists who are turned away from the border because they haven't pre-submitted their ArriveCANinformation to seek out a nearby internet connection or else proceed into Canada and quarantine for 14 days.

That's whereEllingwood White said she's only too happy to step in to offer free library Wi-Fi.

"I'm a little bit well known. Notorious.Aggressively welcoming," shetold CBC News.

"Libraries are very well poised, we found out in the pandemic, to pivot to very local needs."

WATCH | Librarian calls for ArriveCAN access 'equity':

Librarian calls for ArriveCAN access 'equity'

2 years ago

Duration 0:47

Sharon Ellingwood White, the director of the Alice M. Ward Memorial Library in Canaan, Vermont, near the border with Quebec, says she's helped many people fill out their ArriveCAN information in recent months using her library's Wi-Fi because the three nearby border crossings don't have reliable connectivity for app users.

'One day I had 12 people'

Those turned around at the border only to landon the library's doorstep fall into three categories, Ellingwood White said.

There are Canaanlocals many of them French-speaking and elderly who have family in Quebec or want to shop in places likeSherbrooke, Que., for hard-to-find items such aslactose-free yogurt or, in the case of Ellingwood White, a prom suit for her son.

Some don't own a smartphone, and if they do have home internet,"it is not reliable," she said.

"ArriveCAN does not have easy options for same-day trips," she said."Requiring an address for a destination involves people having to look up addresses of the grocery storeor a restaurant. It's awkward and odd."

There are American travellers from other states who aren't aware of the ArriveCAN requirement, such as an83-year-old woman who was driving from Maine to Montreal alone, Ellingwood Whitesaid.

"She was shaking. She was in tears.I had to make her a Gmail account."

There are also Canadians headed back home.

"The younger crossers are pretty savvy with their cellphones but do not have American cellphone data plans. So they use our Wi-Fi," she said.

Border traffic was limited back when apre-entry COVID-19 test result was needed. But when the Canadian government dropped that requirement last spring, "the floodgates opened," she said.

"It was happening a lot. One day I had 12 people."

Canaan resident Ginette Gagnon said Ellingwood White helped her figure out how to photograph her passport and COVID-19 vaccination card using her smartphone. Now,Gagnon is paying it forward.

"One of my husband's friends cameover to see if I could help him with it because he was having a little party this weekend and he wanted to go buy some curd cheese in Canada.

"And Sharon wasn't around."

CBSA concedesconnectivity issues

During a recent parliamentary committee hearing, Transport MinisterOmar Alghabrasaid that while "there is no evidence whatsoever that ArriveCAN is causing any problems" at airports,he was aware of border communitiesflagging the app as an issue.

Ellingwood White wroteAlghabra's office last week to outline the situation in Canaan. She has not received a response, she said.

She had previously written Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's office. The CBSAwrote herback on behalf ofMendicinoin June.

The agencythankedher for her assistance to travellers while alsonoting that "travellers are responsible for ensuring that they are aware of all requirements prior to seeking entry to Canada."

Those without a device and experiencing technical issues "can also ask another person, such as a friend or relative, for assistance to submit their information," the letter said.

Ellingwood White said that only underscores an"equity" gap for seniorsandless-technologically savvy travellers.

When creatingtheGmailaccount for the83-year-old traveller, "I said, 'You may want to share this information with your children.' And she said, 'I don't have children.'

"It is [so easy]to say these elderly travellers need to find a teenager or they need to find someone to help them. That is not equity."

WATCH | 'Something good will come of this':

'Something good will come of this'

2 years ago

Duration 0:44

Ellingwood White said she's refused many offers of money for her help.

The CBSA's response to EllingwoodWhite went on to detail the area'sconnectivity challenges.

"Border service officersat the East Hereford and Hereford Road ports of entry would like to be able to assist travellers in completing their ArriveCAN submissions, but no Wi-Fi network is available," the agencysaid.

"Additionally, theoffices are located in mountainous areas where there is no Canadian cellular network. There is a weak cellular network signal from the United States at the Hereford Road office. Some travellers use this network to complete their ArriveCAN submissions, but others prefer not to pay roaming charges for using a U.S. network."

The Hereford Road border crossing has been flagged as a priority forWi-Fi or Canadian cellular network amplifiers, the agency told EllingwoodWhite.

CBSAisaimingto have a cellular network booster in place at the Hereford portby Sept.30,the agency toldCBC News via email last week.

Even if boosters are installed, theywon't help travellers without smartphones or who have home internet issues, Ellingwood White said.

"This is something that we are looking at with my colleagues and especially the minister responsible for border services," MP Marie-Claude Bibeau, who represents the Quebec area bordering Canaan, said in an interview.

Refusing travellers' money

Though she finds the underlying reasons for their visits frustrating, Ellingwood White said she hasn't turned anyone away.

"Helping travellers who are in distress is one of the most human things that we can do," she said.

As of May 24, CBSA began letting fully vaccinated Canadian land travellers off with a warningthe first time they neglected to fill out the app if they had no history of non-compliance. That one-time exemption was extended to foreign nationals as of July 29.

Since then, the number of travellers required to return to the U.S. to complete ArriveCAN has been significantly reduced, CBSA said.

Ellingwood White has also noticed fewer people beingturned back.

"But still some [are] coming," she said.

Many people have offered EllingwoodWhite money in exchange for the library's free internet, butEllingwood White said she'srefused compensation.

"I shake my head and say, 'That is literally the definition of highwayrobbery.'"

Seeing travellers breathe a sigh of relief after being helped through theArriveCAN process "is repayment in itself," she said.