RCMP can now arrest people who don’t self-isolate for 14 days
Powers to enforce Quarantine Act will be last resort, police force says
The RCMP announced new powers aimed at enforcing the Quarantine Act, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted Friday that rules could be loosened this summer if Canadians act now to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The police force says it has been asked to assist in enforcing the act in the midst of the pandemic. Officers could visit homes to ensure anyone entering Canada is self-isolating for 14 days, and police can now make arrests, rather than issue a court appearance notice or summons.
The RCMP says arrests under the act, violations of which could include a fine of up to $750,000 and imprisonment for six months, will be a last resort.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer, said the move gives officials “the range of tools that might be needed” at this stage of the crisis.
“Of course, we’re asking everyone that when you’re issued an order from the federal government on the Quarantine Act, we expect that to be followed. We are contacting people. And for the majority of the time, you can find them in their rightful place,” Tam said.
“The Quarantine Act has very powerful penalties … you want to make sure fair warning’s given, education’s given and calibrate what you may want to apply to a particular person not following the Quarantine Act.”
Trudeau said Friday he is not planning to invoke the Emergencies Act, which would give the federal government sweeping powers normally reserved for provinces and territories.
The Emergencies Act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988, has never been used.
The federal government on Thursday warned the number of Canadians killed by the novel coronavirus would likely double over the next week and
could reach thousands over the course of the pandemic.
If stringent measures remained in place, the country’s top public health officer predicted the virus could cost at least 4,400 lives over its course. Had controls not been implemented, models indicate as many as 80 per cent of the population could have been infected, with as many as 350,000 deaths. On Friday, the PM reminded Canadians that vigilance against future outbreaks will be the norm for the next 12 to 18 months until a vaccine is developed, but hinted that regulatory changes could bring relief in the summer if people stay strong and stay home for the time being to save lives.
“If we do things right, this will be the first and worst phase that we go through as a country in terms of COVID-19,” Trudeau said. “It is possible we may be out of that wave this summer, and at that point we will be able to talk about loosening up some the rules that are in place.”
He said some people may be able to return to work to “get things rolling again,” though those changes will require a cautious approach.
Ontario will shift its focus to testing those who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 in the coming weeks, including health-care workers and residents of long-term care homes, as the province works to quadruple its capacity over the course of a month.
Public health officials announced Friday that they plan to double testing capacity to 8,000 per day by April 15, and again to 16,000 people per day by May 6, in an effort to root out the novel coronavirus.
“The first step to winning any battle is knowing your enemy,” Premier Doug Ford said.
“We’re going to find cases faster, intervene earlier, and stop this virus in its tracks.” Ford made the announcement as the number of cases in Ontario surged to 6,237 — a jump of 478 — and the death toll reached 222.
And for the fourth day in a row, a backlog of tests awaiting results grew — this time by 390.
Ford said that as the testing capacity increases, it will focus on members of at-risk groups, such as hospital in-patients, people in prisons and jails, caregivers, those in Indigenous or remote communities and those who use homeless shelters.
“This step taken by the province and every effort made by each of us to avoid close contact with others are the key to stop the spread of this virus,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott. “We owe it to our frontline and essential workers, to our family friends and workers, to restrict our travel and to act responsibly.”
Provincial officials said that by May 6 only a quarter of the people they hope to be testing will have been referred to assessment centres, and the rest will go to symptomatic members of at-risk populations. But they said that testing everyone — including the asymptomatic — is of little use, because those who are in the virus’s two-week incubation period could receive false negatives.
Residents and workers at long-term care homes experiencing outbreaks accounted for 931 cases of COVID-19 and 98 deaths, according to the province’s epidemiologic summary.
Trudeau will be at the House of Commons on Saturday as the government attempts to pass the wage subsidy bill.
Trudeau says the wage subsidy bill will represent the largest economic measures Canada has seen since the Second World War. The bill will allow companies to get a 75 per cent subsidy on each employee’s wages.