Only 190 tickets issued for 'ArriveCAN non-compliance': public health agency
CBC
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says only 190 fines have been issued to travellers for refusing to provide their COVID-19 vaccination information when crossing the border into Canada in the time since the ArriveCAN app became mandatory for air travellers and motorists.
"They're very limited cases when you consider the overall number of travellers coming into our country," Jennifer Lutfallah, a vice president with PHAC, told the House of Commons transport committee on Friday.
The committee met to question Transport Minister Omar Alghabra about delays at airports and land border crossings this summer.
Conservative MPs have pointed to ArriveCAN as a source of congestion at customs lines.
But the committee heard that flat refusals to use the app are relatively rare.
Lutfallah, who was also on hand as a witness at the committee hearing, said the people fined for "ArriveCAN non-compliance" have been "repeat offenders," individuals who refused to provide paper submissions — even though that's an option — or people who "just don't want to comply with the public health measures."
Failing to use ArriveCAN can lead to fines of up to $5,000, the federal government warns. That's been the case for air travellers since November 2020 and for drivers since February 2021.
But Lutfallah said border officers are generally "very successful" in convincing people to follow the rules.
"A ticket is not the first option," she said.
International travellers who don't submit their information through ArriveCAN, or who are unvaccinated, are allowed back into the country but may be required to quarantine and undergo two COVID-19 tests a week apart.
People are sent reminders, via the app, to quarantine or undergo testing. They may also be phoned, Lutfallah said.
The public health agency also does in-person checks "based on the risk that the individual may pose with respect to non-compliance," she said.
"In very, very limited circumstances, after we have an on-site verification — and that's usually done by a security company — we will refer some of those more egregious cases to police of jurisdiction."
Lutfallah said she did not have statistics on hand to show how many in-person checks have been conducted.
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