Our client faced a $6,255 ArriveCan ticket upon return to Canada.

TORONTO: Upon returning to Canada from the US in 2022 after a long stay abroad, our client was told by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that he must complete the ArriveCan app and answer questions about his vaccination status.

He had his passport taken and was interrogated by a PHAC officer and police officer. It appeared that, though he was initially advised that he was not being detained, he was, in fact, subsequently detained. He was then charged with an offence under the Quarantine Act and issued a ticket for $6,255.

The TDF legal team filed both a Stinchcombe application for failure to produce police body camera footage and an application for a stay of proceedings on the basis that the client’s s.8 Charter rights were breached during an unlawful search & seizure.

TDF argued that the seizure of the client’s personal information was not reasonable because it was not “authorized by law:” the Minister of Health did not properly specify ArriveCan as the electronic means contemplated by the Quarantine Act.

Although counsel for TDF was prepared to proceed with the hearing, the Crown, just prior to the trial, advised the court that it was withdrawing the charge.

Mark Joseph, counsel with TDF, expressed satisfaction: “It is our legal opinion that the government did not properly specify ArriveCan as the electronic means for collecting travellers’ health information: Canadians should be able to know the law prior to being accused of breaking it. We are prepared to argue this in court. So far, however, the government does not seem willing to refute our arguments on this issue. In any case, we’re pleased that the Crown saw no public interest in pursuing this ticket.”

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About The Democracy Fund:

Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education, and relieving poverty. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education and supports access to justice initiatives for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.