VANCOUVER – Days after the British Columbia government boldly implemented it Ban on non-essential travel Officials in the province admit there is still no enforcement.
On Tuesday, John Horgan admitted that no action had been taken to restrict travel between health authorities, but claimed plans are still in the works. When asked if any enforcement will occur before the circuit breaker lockout expires after the long May weekendHorgan was defensive.
“We set the orders, we set the laws, and it is up to law enforcement to deploy resources to meet those expectations, and I know (Public Safety Secretary Mike Farnworth) is working with the E Division (RCMP) and with his officers to public safety to make sure everyone is on the same page, ”he said.
The government’s approach to a range of issues to curb infectious behavior during the pandemic depended on public news, which relied heavily on terms like “expectations” and “discouragement” rather than enforcement, which was easy.
“I am confident that we will provide details by the end of the week,” said Horgan.
But just days after the Prime Minister surprisingly announced a counter-attack-style review of roadside checks to serve as a “spot check” to ensure people were not traveling between health authorities for irrelevant reasons, Farnworth was already walking down the line Government back.
“In the coming days we will continue to work with the police to take additional measures to ensure that they have the necessary authority to carry out regular roadside checks such as the counter-attack program at strategic points in and out of the defined regions,” Farnworth said, announcing that Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health would be considered a single region, with Northern Health and Interior Health functioning the same way.
It’s important to note that these hybrid regions are significantly larger than before, and will allow someone from Abbotsford to legally travel to Whistler only with a request to keep them closer to home.
Not only that, Vancouver police and the RCMP were quick to say they had serious concerns about the plan and wanted nothing to do with enforcement which raises questions about who exactly would be stopped and under what circumstances.
While Farnworth noted that typical BC Ferries traffic had decreased significantly over the first weekend since the non-essential travel ban was announced, he also admitted that airports would not have enforcement for flights between communities in British Columbia and other provinces.
“Interprovincial flights are regulated nationwide, so the province has no jurisdiction over flights,” he said.
Hammered by journalists and critics who asked why he couldn’t restrict travel between provinces as British Columbia battled its way through the second wave, Horgan issued one Statement late Friday afternoon in January he insisted that his government had received legal advice that it was not possible.
“The review of our legal options has made it clear that we cannot prevent people from traveling to British Columbia,” it said. “Much of the current travel between the provinces is work-related and therefore cannot be restricted.”
Fast forward to the third wave, with the April 19th announcement when BC staggered under the weight of the soaring infections and as Hospitals were overwhelmed For COVID-19 patients, the barrier to travel restrictions has been a political rather than a legal barrier.
And while some hotels and other hospitality businesses canceled bookings, they did so at their own request. Even BC Ferries approved passengers travel under the honor system, and the ferry staff will take them at their word when they make their claims Travel is important.
The strategy seems to be similar to the government’s policy on fines in the first wave of the pandemic: while the Minister of Public Safety made headlines about the empowerment of statutes, conservation officers and even alcohol inspectors look for pandemic rule violationsHe did not authorize them to impose fines until many months later.
Will we see even a single roadblock on the lower mainland before circuit breaker orders expire on Victoria Day?
It is possible that there will be a handful of enforcement actions that the government can point to as evidence of compliance with its word. However, it increasingly looks like they are counting on the initial enforcement threat that arose from headline-generating political rhetoric to change public behavior rather than meaningful enforcement.
