controversial government rules requiring air travellers arriving in canada to book a non-refundable stay at a government-authorized quarantine hotel are under legal fire and judicial scrutiny at a trial challenging the constitutionality of the covid-19 control measures.
four separate challenges are being heard together by paul crampton, chief justice of the federal court, who started the trial’s opening day, featuring 10,000 pages of documents, on the 50
th
anniversary of the court’s founding.
“this is not what we do in canada, we do not detain law-abiding citizens en masse,” sayeh hassan, a lawyer for several of the people challenging the rules, told the court.
“these measures have a devastating impact on our democracy. we tend to see these types of measures where the rule of law doesn’t exist,” she said.
“if random, three-day detentions for someone who is not suspected of having broken the law are approved by this court as a routine screening process, then we will truly be creating new law,” robert hawkes, a lawyer for other applicants, told court.
“not only would it be problematic new law, but it would be dangerous new law.”
at issue is the federal government’s covid-19 control measures requiring travellers arriving in canada by air to pre-book at their own expense a three-day non-refundable stay in a government-authorized hotel, and remain in quarantine there until a second covid test confirms they are not carrying the novel coronavirus.