A group of air travellers has lost a Federal Court bid for an interim injunction to prohibit hotel quarantines for returning passengers. Justice William Pentney said in a written ruling that though the three-day stay may “vex and inconvenience” travellers, it does not put Canadians’ security at significant risk.
The mandatory quarantine at a federally designated facility – part of a two-week self-isolation regime for travellers flying back from abroad – came into effect on Feb. 22 following federal measures announced the previous month.
The measures have faced some backlash from opposition MPs, civil liberties groups, and health experts for either coming too late, encroaching on individual freedoms, or not going far enough.
Despite the mandated quarantine and its attendant $2,000 bill, the judge said that the risk that travellers will unwittingly carry COVID-19 variants over the border even after testing negative before flight departure means the measures should stand until a final ruling comes down.
The broader case against the hotel stays, organized by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, is slated to continue in Federal Court with a three-day hearing starting June 1.
Justice Centre spokesman Jay Cameron said the federal government will have “to account for the incarceration of Canadians without due process.”
“The forced isolation of Canadians in federal facilities, even though they are asymptomatic and have already tested negative for COVID, is an unwarranted, arbitrary and unjustified detention that is a shameful blight on the nation,” he said in an email.
Multiple G20 countries have arguably stricter quarantine measures. Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Japan mandate hotel quarantines ranging from 10 days to three weeks for some or most arrivals.
The preliminary ruling did not examine the applicants’ core claims under sections 7 and 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protect Canadians’ right to life, liberty and security and their right not to be arbitrarily detained, respectively. These will come under the microscope after a full hearing in five weeks, the judge said.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole on Monday called for tighter travel restrictions rather than “half measures” by the Liberal government.
He said Canada should consider an immediate ban on all international flights, particularly COVID-19 hot spots, and implement rapid testing at airports and land-border crossings to keep out more transmissible strains of the virus.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada has among the strictest travel and border rules across the globe, including the 14-day self-isolation and a ban on travel into the country by most non-residents.
On Thursday, the federal government announced a 30-day ban on all direct flights from India and Pakistan as case numbers spike at home and more contagious strains including the B.1.6.1.7 variant ravage the subcontinent.