The advertisements and warnings regarding police enforcement of regional travel bans in BC are likely to have much more impact than the actual checkpoints.
Officials have noted that most people are sticking to the rules, so enforcement of the new mandatory emergency program regulation will target a minority who have not yet processed the recommendations, guidelines and advice. Two weeks of dismay at the heightened stringency gave them ample warnings.
It is therefore unlikely that the actual checkpoints will turn into some kind of dragnet summary of “non-essential travelers”.
And the description of how they will work on Friday suggests that they will be set up with a light touch. Stopping and interviewing large numbers of drivers on major highways was unlikely from the start. It would have turned into something similar to this week’s pop-up AstraZeneca clinics. (Gridlock.)
As with CounterAttack, the risk of encountering a checkpoint will deter more people than the actual checks.
It will take a lot of police resources, but they had to follow the alert with some enforcement.
Public Safety Secretary Mike Farnworth released the details of last week’s announcement. With the five health authorities on which the restriction is based, three checkpoints are now configured. There won’t be any on Vancouver Island. BC Ferries staff will inquire if a customer’s trip is essential and the police will only attend if necessary.
Farnworth placed great emphasis on one place: Hope, near the junction of the Trans Canada into Coquihalla, Fraser Canyon and Hope-Princeton.
The travel ban between three regions before Christ (Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, and north and east of Hope) is expected to last until May 25, although that could depend on the number of cases.
There are 21 exceptions that describe essential trips. RCMP will be the only police manning the checkpoints, and on a limited basis. You can only ask for ID and the reason for the trip and cannot do arbitrary vehicle or roadside checks.
The drivers do not have to document their reason for travel. If the police decide that a drive is not strictly necessary, they will ask the driver to turn around. The fine only applies to non-compliance.
Road checks are warned on motorways. Farnworth put it this way: “You see signs that a road check is ahead of you a few miles before the actual road check. You can turn around if you find that my trip may not be that important. ”
The BC Liberal Opposition said it will enable the police to determine whether travel is essential and continue to confuse the situation.
MLA liberal critic Mike Morris said Prime Minister John Horgan lifted the travel ban for the first time eleven days ago and “there is still confusion.” People traveling for medical reasons shouldn’t be stressed out trying to convince police of their reason, he said. He said it was ridiculous that the border with Alberta would remain open and that there would be no checkpoints for passengers.
The number of cases in Alberta is currently higher than in BC, but the BC government has refused to restrict travel between the provinces for unknown legal reasons. There are cues, warnings, and requests not to tick, but it is not mandatory and there will be no enforcement.
The same regime applies to all travel within the health authorities.
Farnworth simply said, “The question of the limit is a complex one.”
Friday was the third announcement of mandatory travel restrictions.
Prime Minister John Horgan issued the first warning on April 19. Outlining the roadcheck’s enforcement of the new health ordinance, he said BC Ferries will stop shipping RVs and RVs, and discussed how the hotel industry has been urged to stop bookings from outside-region guests. (The cancellation and rejection of hotel bookings is not included in the actual emergency order. The hosts are asked to do this voluntarily.)
Farnworth gave further details a week ago and again on Friday.
Three separate warnings, highway signs saying they are ahead and a year discouraging any type of travel. Anyone caught at any of these checkpoints probably deserves it.
All that hard talk will do at least as much as the checkpoints. Plus, it appeals to everyone who obeys the rules, which goes a long way towards keeping them in place.
lleyne@timescolonist.com
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