Quarantine hotels cost taxpayers $388M
PANDEMIC EXPENSE
• 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 by fiscal year, it amounted to $158.5 million in 2020-21, $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.”
The federal government designated 38 quarantine facilities in 14 cities across Canada.
The latest financial 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 15 just 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?”
International travel into Canada was restricted to various levels throughout the pandemic, including a period of time in 2021 when most Canadians returning from non-essential travel abroad were required to take a COVID test and await results at a designated quarantine hotel until a negative result was returned.
The government's hotel stay requirement ended for all travellers on Aug. 9, 2021. However, unvaccinated Canadians were still required to isolate for 14 days when entering the country.
Jarbeau said Wednesday that PHAC had finalized closeout plans with hotels and there are currently no designated quarantine facilities remaining in the country.
Health Minister Jean-yves Duclos said during question period on Tuesday that protecting Canadians' health and safety has been the government's priority throughout the pandemic, and reiterated that public health measures helped achieve that goal.