VANCOUVER — The federal government has been footing for arrivals to Canada who have no place to quarantine during the pandemic, expenses that added up to $37 million in accommodation and food over the past four months.
Tens of thousands of travellers continue to arrive by air and by land, according to Canada Border Services Agency, and must quarantine for 14 days.
For instance, across Canada between Aug. 10 and 16, more than 185,000 travellers arrived by land and more than 58,000 flew into the country, for a total of almost 244,000. But 111,000 of those were truck drivers, leaving 133,000 others, or 19,000 a day, who entered the country, according to the latest statistics. A CBSA spokesman said it couldn’t provide provincial figures.
It also said 64 per cent of air travellers for that week were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, meaning about 21,000 were non-citizens or residents. The percentage of Canadians arriving by land wasn’t provided.
Travellers need to declare to CBSA their quarantine arrangements, according to he Public Health Agency of Canada.
If they do not have a suitable plan for quarantine at home, friends, family or in paid accommodation, CBSA will refer them to the health agency “for further assessment,” the agency said.
“As a last resort, when no other quarantine options are available, travellers may be sent to a federally designated quarantine facility,” it said.
Between April 1 and Aug. 15, 2,306 travellers have been put up at undisclosed hotels in several cities, including Metro Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Fredericton, said the health agency. On Aug. 15, there were 245 such guests, including 20 in Metro.
“Travellers who are required by a quarantine officer to quarantine or isolate in a designated quarantine facility are not required to pay for the costs associated with their stay,” it said.
Those in quarantine are provided with three meals a day “and other essentials” delivered to their rooms, transportation to the hotel and daily “health checks.”
Those providing quarantine plans are given pamphlets explaining the Quarantine Act requirements and monitored by email (on days four, eight and 11) and phone messages (on days eight and 11), the agency said.
Health agency officers also “undertake live compliance verification phone calls.” The calls begin before the fifth day and “continued attempts are made for three consecutive days.”
If the traveller answers, an officer assesses his compliance. If he can’t be reached or appears not to be complying, the traveller is reported to police.
Violators under the Quarantine Act would be subject to “verbal and written warnings, fines, and arrest,” it said, but it’s not known how many follow-ups are made because police respond based on their resources, the health agency said.
And police may not always report back their results. “Even if they find a violation, they may choose to use a different instrument for enforcement (e.g., local bylaws or provincial legislation),” it said.
A B.C. Health Ministry spokesman in an email said: “Since April 10, Service B.C. representatives have called 71,878 people to ensure self isolation plans were being followed” and more than 10 per cent (7,578) were referred for potential follow up.
In a followup email, Shannon Greer, communications manager for the ministry, said: “The enforcement of the quarantine order is the responsibility of the federal government, they would be the ones to contact travellers to issue tickets or fines.”
