TORONTO: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) is raising concerns over the constitutionality of newly announced plans by the Federal government to force incoming travelers into hotels for quarantine. The mandatory hotel quarantine will be at travellers own expense.
“Our Charter explicitly protects the right of Canadians to enter, remain in and leave Canada. Imposing these quarantine prison hotels is a clear violation of the right of Canadians to enter their own country,” said CCF Litigation Director, Christine Van Geyn.
The announcement comes on the heels of existing federal requirements for travellers entering Canada to be tested before they can board a plane, and an expected announcement by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to require additional testing at the airport on arrival. Travellers are also currently required to quarantine for fourteen days in their own homes.
“The federal government’s plan for prison hotels is redundant when put on top of existing requirements. Forcibly confining Canadians at their own expense is an unjustified infringement on our fundamental mobility rights. If the concern is over the new COVID variant, the government has already failed to keep the variant out of Canada. Subsequent pandemic theatre that violates our constitutional rights will not make up for that failure,” continued Van Geyn.
The CCF is asking any individual who will be subject to the new federal plan to quarantine in a government facility to contact Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn at [email protected]
The original version of this release can be found here.