Travel restrictions ‘wreaking havoc’ on family
Shifting requirements for seasonal residents means longer separation of a Charlottetown nurse from her autistic son
A reunification of mother and child continues to be a casualty of the shifting application requirements for seasonal residents seeking entry into P.E.I.
Abigail Henriques has been waiting to be reunited with her eight-year-old son, Ruben, since the COVID19 pandemic made travel between provinces difficult. Henriques works as a licensed practical nurse in Charlottetown, where she has lived for two years, while her son lives in Cornerbrook, N.L. with his grandparents, Christa and Rick van Gelder.
While their applications to enter P.E.I. on compassionate grounds had been turned down three times, it seemed that P.E.I.’s decision to allow entry of seasonal residents would finally allow mother and son to be reunited.
Those hopes were dashed this week when the family found out that the van Gelders would need to reside in a “fixed roof structure". Christa and Rick own an Airstream trailer, situated and hooked up on a property they own in P.E.I. The plan was for the two to self-isolate for 14 days with Ruben in the trailer on their property upon arrival.
For Abigail, this is just the latest in a long string of frustrations and disappointments.
"My parents are done. I'm also done. It has been wreaking havoc on them but also on me. Stress – through the roof!" Abigail said in an interview.
"Monday I wasn't even fit. I was so stressed out that I was
bawling my eyes out, I was screaming blue murder. I was migraine city. It was rough.”
For Ruben, the stress and uncertainty has also taken a toll. The youngster has already packed his belongings in preparation for his departure.
“His mood has gone down again. He’s wrapping himself up in all his blankets again for comfort,” Abigail said.
“I still see that he’s struggling with this, and he also doesn’t understand. It’s very difficult – how do you explain to him that? How do you explain to an eight-year-old boy that he can’t travel to mommy?”
Both Rick and Christa have applied for entry as seasonal residents but expect their application will be rejected.
The two described diminishing confidence in integrity of the application process. The application now requires a property owner to present proof of insurance.
Last week provincial officials said only that applicants would need to provide proof of property ownership.
Rick believes the collection of the proof of insurance is an invasion of privacy.
“Things change every day,” Rick said of the requirements.
“The government of P.E.I. is totally out of bounds.”
On top of this, Rick and Christa would be required to undergo a swab test between the 10th and 12th day of their 14-day self-isolation.
Rick, a pediatrician, believes this requirement for a swab test by seasonal residents is an “egregious breach of existing medical-ethical standards”.
He disputed whether P.E.I.’s chief public health officer has the legal authority to order testing.
“The testing requirement that is now imposed is a completely unacceptable infringement on the security of the person,” he said.
For Rick, the bureaucratic hassles bring up some uncomfortable memories.
“I had lived in Europe as a young man when we were in the middle of the Cold War,” he said.
“I can tell you, getting into the Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain was easier than to come into P.E.I. at the moment.”
The P.E.I. government has already faced warnings from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association about its travel restrictions. In a May 15 letter issued to Justice and Public Safety Minister Bloyce Thompson, the CCLA said mobility rights are enshrined in Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“Your province is piling up the restrictions at a time when the curve is flattening nationally and globally,” the letter stated.
“Absent evidence that one or more of these restrictions is ineffective, the more restrictive measure is unconstitutional, because it is neither necessary nor proportionate.”
During question period on Wednesday, Green Opposition MLA Ole Hammarlund raised the case of Abigail, Ruben and their grandparents.
“Will you commit to give family reunions of any kind priority over admitting cottage owners,” Hammarlund asked Premier Dennis King.
King responded that he has been discussing this matter with chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison for weeks.
“I know it is a priority for her and it is our intention to try to make it as easy as possible to get those family members back here,” King said, promising further details in the future.
Asked in a media scrum of the possible civil rights implications of the travel restrictions for families like the van Gelders, King admitted this is a concern for him.
“I am worried every day when we have a situation where people just can’t come to Prince Edward Island and live freely,” King said.
“I live in a world where there could be lawsuits for just about anything. Would I be surprised if somebody pushed this to a judicial level? I would say no.”
King added government counsel believes there is legal leeway for the province to impose travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
On Thursday, Thompson told The Guardian that the requirement around “fixed roof structures” was put in place by the Emergency Measures Organization because the organization could not guarantee other structures used for self-isolation would have running water.
For her part, Abigail said she has already reached out to legal counsel, pending what she expects to be another rejection of the travel application for her parents.
Two legal challenges have already been filed in Newfoundland and Labrador related to travel restrictions.
“In my mind, they should not be able to get away with this kind of thing and yet they do,” Abigail said.
“It still feels like what they’re doing here is discriminatory.”