People living in the island’s health region should not travel between Victoria and Nanaimo for recreation, says BC Attorney General Mike Farnworth, who is drafting orders against non-essential travel between health authorities that include vehicle controls at ferry terminals
“When you’re in Victoria, you know, don’t go to Nanaimo,” Farnworth said on Wednesday. “When you’re in Nanaimo, don’t go to Port Hardy. That’s already there, and most people are doing the right thing. “
British Columbia’s Prime Minister John Horgan on Monday announced a series of measures aimed at halting non-essential movements between health officials to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
BC Ferries has been asked not to take reservations for recreational vehicles that run between health authorities and tourism-focused businesses such as hotels and tour operators have been asked not to take bookings outside of the health authorities.
“We want to limit recreational travel between health authorities, so the ferry terminals with the island are the obvious place to do that,” Farnworth said.
At the ferry terminals on and off Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, there are CounterAttack-style roadside checks that may lead to the Interior Health region via the Hope-Princeton Highway or the Coquihalla Highway.
Those whose travel between health authorities is deemed not essential will be fined even though the amount has not been disclosed. The fine is open to appeal, but after 30 days, unpaid undisputed fines will be sent to a debt collection agency, the province said.
Farnworth said he expected to introduce measures in lawmakers over the next few weeks to bolster the ability to collect those fines. “People will pay you.”
Essential travel is loosely defined as transporting essential goods and traveling to medical appointments and for childcare purposes. More detailed information on what is considered essential travel should be available by the end of the week, Farnworth said.
Farnworth said Wednesday that there will be “absolutely no roadside checks” on Boundary Road or the Fraser Highway between Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health authorities, which will be treated as one region.
Regarding long distances within a health agency – for example, people traveling the more than four-hour journey from Victoria to Tofino – Horgan previously said people should use common sense and stay close to their homes.
The success of the travel restrictions depends on the cooperation of the tourism industry, which, according to the province, has agreed not to accept bookings from external health authorities and to cancel bookings already made.
However, the tourism industry is asking for clarification, saying it is unclear whether a Victoria hotelier will need to cancel a reservation from a Nanaimo resident or from a visitor flying in from Ontario.
Farnworth pledged more details when the order was issued later that week, saying the province was working with the BC Tourism Industry Association to deal with people coming from other jurisdictions.
Signs are expected to be posted on the Alberta border preventing travel between provinces.
If someone enters the Inner Health Region from Alberta, they won’t be stopped at the border but shouldn’t be allowed to enter any other health agency to get to Vancouver, for example, Farnworth said.
The province has worked with other provinces to limit the number of people who come to British Columbia. “As do British Columbians who don’t travel outside of their region,” Farnworth said.
It was international travel that brought the first provincial variant case to the Island Health region.
“We regularly raise concerns about Ottawa about international travel, whether outside of North America or on the border with our southern US neighbors,” said Farnworth. “We always work with Ottawa on this and will continue to do so.”
The province is looking at workarounds in situations like the low number of people having to travel between health authorities for ICBC testing, he said.
Farnworth’s comments come after the National Police Federation issued a statement saying it has “serious concerns” about police involvement in enforcing a COVID-19 ban on non-essential travel.
A statement by Brian Sauvé, president of the federation, said calling on police to enforce roadblocks puts even more pressure on limited resources and exposes officials to further risks and possible COVID-19 infections.
“Equally important is that we continue to improve and develop our relationships with vulnerable and racially motivated communities. The ambiguity and potentially negative impact of these orders can reverse that progress,” he said.
He pointed to a similar attempt in Ontario that resulted in the province being forced to step down from enforcement action.
The officers were initially empowered to stop pedestrians or drivers to ask why they weren’t there or to get their home address.
But on Sunday, Doug Ford’s administration restricted police to preventing people from attending “an organized public event or social meeting” they had reason to believe.
The Ontario police had stated that they had no intention of exercising their new powers until the reversal.
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
– With a file from The Canadian Press
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