National Post (National Edition)
B.C. seeking legal advice on inbound travel limits
COVID-19 SPREAD
VICTORIA • The B.C. government is seeking legal advice on whether it can limit non-essential travel to the province during the pandemic, the premier says.
Premier John Horgan told a news conference Thursday there is concern about people coming from other provinces or territories and spreading COVID-19.
Horgan said he and other premiers have made the case for Canadians to stay home during the pandemic, but people continue to travel. The issue has been discussed for months and it's time to determine if the government can act, he added.
“I want to put this either to rest, so British Columbians understand we cannot do that and we're not going to do that, or there is a way to do it and we're going to work with other provinces to achieve it.”
Health orders issued by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, which are in effect until Feb. 5, tell B.C. residents not to travel for vacations, recreation or social visits. The Health Ministry could not be immediately reached for comment on the severity of the issue posed by interprovincial travel.
The Atlantic provinces formed a bubble that required people from outside the region to get approval before travelling there, but Horgan said a similar plan might not work for B.C.
The mayor of Golden, B.C., says shuttering provincial borders would be an extreme answer to the issue of continued non-essential travel.
Golden, roughly 250 kilometres west of Calgary, sees millions of tourists pass through and stay in the mountain town each year but COVID-19 has created a 40-per-cent drop in tourism numbers over the last 12 months.
The town's mayor, Don Oszust, said though he's still seeing a “fair” number of visitors and that while everyone's definition of essential travel might be different, Canadians have been given a clear message: stay home.
“I would not say their travel has always been essential but they've been respectful of the situation and been cautious and careful but the safest thing to do is as we're being asked to on an ongoing basis: essential travel only and that's in both of our provinces,” he said. “I don't see taking a visit for skiing, for snowmobiling, for recreational purposes as essential travel.”
Oszust said he wonders whether or not Horgan has the ability to enact such a restriction under Canadian law and an even bigger question comes to mind.
“Then it comes down to who is going to enforce it? And how do we police that?” he said. “We need to go back and say, essential travel is essential travel. We can rationalize and justify mental health as a reason to potentially spread a virus but let's really stop for a moment to think about it.”
Limiting interprovincial travel and the advice received by legal experts will be discussed during the NDP government's virtual cabinet retreat over the next two days.
The desire to seek legal clarification also comes after politicians and public figures across Canada travelled outside the country around Christmas.