Experts warn ArriveCAN app could be violating constitutionally protected rights

A recent glitch in ArriveCAN that ordered more than 10,000 people to quarantine may have violated Canadians' fundamental rights, experts warn.

A recent glitch in the controversial ArriveCAN app that sent fully vaccinated travellers erroneous messages saying they needed to quarantine affected more than 10,000 people, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

The extent of the glitch, which was revealed in a statement sent to Global News by the CBSA, represents 0.7 per cent of the typical number of cross-border travellers each week.

Global News has also learned it took the government 12 days to notify travellers of the error.

This is troubling to some data and privacy experts who say the app may be violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects the right to move freely.

There’s also a debate among experts about whether ordering people to remain in their homes for two weeks without justification is a form of unlawful detention.

“It creates direct harm for people who are receiving this incorrect notification and following it,” said Matt Malone, a law professor at Thompson River University in Kamloops, B.C., who specializes in trade secrets and confidential information.

“The government hasn’t provided sufficient transparency about why that happened. And there needs to be better accountability practices in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

ArriveCAN was originally launched in April 2020 as a voluntary tool meant to assist border guards in determining if people were eligible to enter Canada and whether they met strict COVID-19 requirements.