Quarantine hotels cost taxpayers $388M

CALGARY • The federal government spent close to $400 million on quarantine hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic, including nearly $80 million in 2022, according to the latest numbers provided by Health Canada.

Tammy Jarbeau, a spokeswoman for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, confirmed in an email that the government spent $388.7 million on Designated Quarantine Facilities between March 2020 and September 2022.

Broken down, it amounted to $158.5 million in 202021, $153 million in 2021-22 and $77.2 million in 2022-23. Many public health restrictions, including those around travel, were eased or lifted in the final year.

“The costs associated with this program included lodging, meals, security, traveller support and transportation,” said Jarbeau. “The Government of Canada has always worked to protect Canadians, adapting our COVID-19 response based on the latest science and evidence. Designated quarantine facilities met public health guidelines for the purposes of accommodating travellers to quarantine as required by emergency orders under the Quarantine Act.”

There were 38 quarantine facilities in 14 cities.

The latest figures come a day after Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner released the cost of a quarantine hotel in her riding. She said Tuesday that the federal government spent more than $6 million at the Westin Calgary Airport hotel in 2022, with the hotel hosting just 15 people who were quarantining. Rempel Garner called it a “waste” of money.

“It was across the country and if someone hasn’t already been fired over this, that has to happen,” said Rempel Garner. “I think there’s a lot more questions ... Why was this needed after quarantine restrictions were lifted? Did somebody just forget to cancel the contract?”