BC Crown drops ticket against woman who refused quarantine hotel due to medical condition

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is pleased to announce that the BC Crown has dropped a $5,750 Covid ticket issued under the Quarantine Act, against “Mrs. S.” of Maple Ridge, BC, for refusing to go to a quarantine hotel after arriving home from Nigeria.

In June 2021, upon landing at Vancouver International Airport after visiting her husband abroad, border security told Mrs. S she would have to quarantine at a hotel pending the results of a negative PCR test for Covid. Mrs. S. declined, explaining that she suffered from sleep apnea and that the sleep apnea machine with her had stopped functioning properly during her travels. She told government agents she needed to go home where she had a fully functioning sleep apnea machine and advised them that she lived alone and could safely quarantine at home.

Despite a legitimate reason of health concerns for declining to go to a quarantine hotel, Mrs. S was issued a $5,750.00 ticket for failing to comply with the Quarantine Act.

After negotiations with the Crown, which included providing proof of Ms. S’s medical condition and the details regarding her medical requirement for a sleep apnea machine, the Crown dropped the charge against Mrs. S.

“The Charter guarantees citizens the right to leave, enter, and remain in Canada, a basic freedom respected by free and democratic societies around the world,” says Sayeh Hassan, Justice Centre lawyer.

Adds Ms. Hassan, “That this ticket was even issued is an example of how the federal travel restrictions have unnecessarily and unfairly burdened Canadians needing to leave or re-enter the country, and further shows they are being applied without compassion even in the case where a legitimate medical concern exists.”