OTTAWA – The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has “withdrawn” 16 of the 30 tickets it mistakenly issued in the past 24 hours to BC residents returning from the US and exempted from the Act. Quarantine law.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, the agency said it was working to quickly review all cases involving travelers who had traveled south to find essential supplies due to problems. on the supply chain in the province due to severe flooding.
“PHAC reviewed 30 tickets that were issued in the region in the last 24 hours and withdrew 16 tickets – 14 tickets in total were validly issued. [Monday],” read a statement sent Tuesday night.
“PHAC continues to review all tickets issued since the onset of the BC emergency to ensure that PHAC officers use their full discretion when deciding on the best tool to implement Examining the Quarantine Act.”
After speaking with his provincial counterparts, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair announced over the weekend that people living in border towns could get gas, food or medicine in the US and return without presenting a negative PCR test or mandatory quarantine.
However, some residents who followed the direction were still fined up to $5,750 for not following the rules.
Blair told reporters on Tuesday that he spoke with the president of Canada’s Border Services Agency and cleared up any confusion.
“That direction was given to border agencies, but obviously there was a need to clarify some issues and that was given,” he said.
The move speeds up the deadline for PCR testing that had been scheduled for Canadians traveling abroad for less than 72 hours, which was scheduled to begin November 30.
The PHAC added that any traveler who has received a ticket and believes their circumstances warrant the use of an exemption related to the BC situation should contest a ticket.
“The process of competing for tickets received at the border is printed on the ticket itself,” the statement read.
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