Tips for safe summer travel

With the summer travel season in full swing, many members of the Concordia community will find themselves away from home in the next few weeks. But before take-off, there’s one thing to remember: Roger Côté, the university’s vice-president of Services, urges all students, staff and faculty to record their university-related trips with Concordia’s Travel Registry.

“It’s a confidential service that the university can use to help keep travellers safe,” he says. “It’s only used in emergencies.”

The Travel Registry locates Concordians in the advent of a crisis or a natural disaster. To sign up, simply log in to the MyConcordia portal and click on the Travel Registry link in the menu.

Further details are available on the Travel Safety page, along with links to policies on university travel and related resources from the Government of Canada.

The page also includes helpful tips. “We designed the page to make gathering travel safety information quick and easy,” says Darren Dumoulin, Emergency Management’s senior advisor.

Concordians are also encouraged to check the federal government’s Country Travel Advice and Advisories page to see whether a warning has been issued for the country or countries they plan to visit. “The situation can change very quickly, and it’s important to know what’s happening on the ground before you travel,” Côté says.

The government’s travel advisories provide Canadians with an up-to-date assessment of the risks associated with travel to a specific country. For example, on July 2, owing to the political unrest in Egypt, the government cautioned Canadians to avoid non-essential visits there.

Faculty and staff covered by the Concordia Health Plan should also take note that they have access to emergency care and travel assistance outside their province of residence. More information is available through on the Health plan page.
 
For faculty and staff with temporary residency status, Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec and Concordia health and dental coverage is not available during travel outside of Quebec for more than 21 consecutive days.
 
Related links:
•    Travel Safety web page
•    MyConcordia portal
•    Emergency Management web page
•    Country Travel Advice and Advisories web page