The Canadian government will be allowed continue enforcing its contentious out-of-pocket hotel quarantine program while a legal challenge against it winds its way through the court system, an Ontario judge ruled on Monday
TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2021) The Canadian government will be allowed continue enforcing its contentious out-of-pocket hotel quarantine program while a legal challenge against it winds its way through the court system, an Ontario judge ruled on Monday.
The Trudeau government's requirement for all incoming air passengers into Canada to quarantine for three days at their own expense at a state-designated hotel is being challenged in court by the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF), which argues the practice violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and had asked for an interim injunction in the case.
"The motion is dismissed," Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Fred Myers said in the ruling. "I do not see why the main constitutional hearing needs to await another injunction hearing."
Myers said that the interim injunction application was filed in order to halt enforcement of the program while the government prepared an evidentiary response. However, the Ontario court justice said that he received a full injunction argument from government attorneys much faster than expected.
The CCF issued a statement calling the court ruling bittersweet, but pointed out that the court did recognize the applicants in the challenge have sympathetic stories and the constitutional questions need to be heard on the merits.
"The court also acknowledged that the applicants' section 7 Charter liberty interests are engaged by the quarantine hotel policy," CCF Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn said in a statement.
Canada's Justice Department did not immediately respond to Sputnik's request for a comment.
Canada's Conservative Party, led by Shadow Minister for Health Michelle Rempel Garner, has called on the Trudeau government to suspend the hotel quarantine program and introduce an at-home quarantine verification system by properly trained and vetted security agents.
Although the Canadian government is constitutionally prohibited from barring citizens from leaving the country, the Trudeau government has used the enhanced border security measures to discourage international travel amid the pandemic.
All entrants into Canada must complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine. As of March 25, 2020, Quarantine Act violators may be subject to a fine of up to $537,000 and/or imprisonment for six months.
The measure came into effect on February 22 and will expire on April 21 if the government chooses not to extend it.
