National Post (National Edition)
Arrest for leaving home raises legal questions
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. • The arrest of a Newfoundland woman for refusing to stay home after she returned from a trip outside the province is raising questions about the extent to which law enforcement agencies can limit basic freedoms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed Wednesday the 53-year-old woman was arrested the night before in Corner Brook and placed in a jail cell overnight for allegedly violating public health emergency orders aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
Const. James Cadigan said officers responded to complaints alleging the woman was not self-isolating for 14 days, as required under Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Health Protection and Promotion Act.
He said officers spoke to the woman and arrested her for failing to comply with the law, which could lead to a fine of between $500 and $2,500 or a jail sentence of up to six months.
“If you’re going to put our community at risk, we will follow up on those measures,” Cadigan said.
However, the head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said police are on murky legal ground, even though dealing with a global pandemic can call for extraordinary measures.
“If it’s a measure of last resort and the police exercise their discretion in a way that puts public health first ... then there is legal authorization to do this,” said Michael Bryant, the association’s executive director.
But Bryant said in an interview, “It’s not clear to me that a quarantine order for travel outside of a province is constitutional.”
“Any travel order than restricts people’s travel from province to province, arguably, could run afoul of our constitutional rights to mobility. This may be an opportunity to test this particular Newfoundland law that clearly restricts mobility rights.”
Later Wednesday, the federal government announced it will start enforcing 14-day quarantines on travellers returning to Canada. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said mandatory isolation is needed to flatten the curve of the growth of the novel coronavirus.
The quarantine order comes with the potential for arrests and fines.
In Quebec City, police arrested a woman last week who they say was infected with the virus and was walking outside after being ordered to stay indoors.