Trucker cleared of ArriveCAN charges for refusal to disclose vaccine status
Dan P. faced charges under the Quarantine Act for failing to disclose his vaccination status through ArriveCAN during a work assignment as a commercial trucker. He received a hefty fine totalling $9405 for the infraction.
With several Canadians already taking Ottawa to court over ArriveCAN, the Federal Court stayed outstanding charges against a Canadian man who did not disclose his vaccination status at the border.
Dan P. faced charges under the Quarantine Act for failing to disclose his vaccination status through ArriveCAN during a work assignment as a commercial trucker. He received a hefty fine totalling $9405 for the infraction.
"Mr. P., along with many other Canadians, believed that the deadline would not apply to commercial drivers, based on an official Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) announcement on January 12, 2022. This announcement was made during his trip and informed his travel plans," said the Justice Centre in a written statement.
"Highly illogical and inefficient" is how PM Trudeau describes the ArriveCAN app , which cost taxpayers millions, at the same time defending his govt, using the pandemic as an excuse.
— Rebel News Québec (@RebelNews_QC) January 24, 2023
End the app: https://t.co/uONqGW7INf pic.twitter.com/p0mdKgXQFq
"Upon hearing about the new requirements, Mr. P. arranged for a second driver to accompany him so that he could travel a long distance to return home before the new restrictions took place. However, the second driver had to cancel hours before departure due to a medical emergency in the family."
Their client could only drive a set number of hours a day due to rest requirements, preventing him from reaching the Canadian border before the federal government cemented its travel mandate.
The federal government launched ArriveCAN in April 2020 as an alleged pandemic management tool. They claimed it would streamline the border-crossing process by allowing travellers to upload quarantine details.
Though Ottawa made it optional at the onset, it eventually became a prerequisite for air and land travel on July 5, 2021, when the federal government required all travellers to disclose their COVID vaccination status.
Those who failed or refused to use ArriveCAN could have faced a maximum fine of $750,000 or be imprisoned for up to 6 months, or both.
Upon his arrival at the border, CBSA demanded that Mr. P. provide his vaccination status to them via ArriveCAN. Mr. P refused to give this sensitive medical information on privacy grounds and believed he was exempt from this requirement.
They fined him for refusing to provide this information via ArriveCAN, but those charges stayed on March 3, 2023.
Pierre Poilievre grills Justin Trudeau on ArriveCan
— Rebel News Québec (@RebelNews_QC) October 19, 2022
“Would the genius who spent 54 million dollars on an app that could be designed in a weekend, please stand up now?”
Sign our petition! https://t.co/ia4MuhGOTl pic.twitter.com/85VZtahPJL
"Mr. P is a hardworking Canadian trucker who was informed of new restrictions and requirements that would be implemented in January 2022 while in the United States," said the Justice Centre, who added their client had concerns with disclosing his vaccination status through ArriveCAN.
"Canadians should not be forced to disclose private medical information to people not practicing medicine," according to Justice Centre lawyer Sayeh Hassan, who represents dozens of Canadians who refused to disclose their medical information due to privacy concerns.
"The right to reasonable privacy, including the right to medical privacy, is protected by the Charter, and hardworking Canadians should not be punished for choosing to exercise their rights. The stay of charges against Mr. P. is a step in the right direction," concludes Hassan.
The Justice Centre is advancing a constitutional challenge in Federal Court on behalf of several Canadians fined for refusing to disclose their vaccination status via ArriveCAN. In the lawsuit, some claimants willingly told their vaccination status through paper certificates, while others did not want to disclose personal medical information to government agents.
The lawsuit alleges the federal government breached the privacy rights of the claimants and that the demand for such information was unconstitutional.
Among the claimants is Burlington resident Joanne Walsh, 71, who presented a vaccine certificate to border agents upon returning from a short trip to the US in the summer of 2022.
The agents refused to accept her certificate and demanded Walsh use the ArriveCAN app. When she refused, border agents issued her a $6,255 fine and ordered her into 14-day quarantine, despite being a "vaccinated traveller."
So a senior presents a “vaccine certificate” to border agents after a quick vacay to the US and they still forced her into a 14-day quarantine.
— Alex Dhaliwal (@westfirstblog) March 4, 2023
Why? Because she didn’t use the $54 million boondoggle called ArriveCAN.
Say no vaccine passports!https://t.co/juQUVq02Af
After the incident, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) sent agents to her residence to check her compliance with the quarantine requirements.
In late January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted his government's approach to the ArriveCAN app was "highly illogical."
GCstrategies — the Ottawa-based company that received millions in federal commissions on IT projects — subcontracted its work on the ArriveCan app to six other companies, including multinationals such as BDO and KPMG.
Constructing its software costs taxpayers $54 million, with GCstrategies typically billing the federal government between $1,000 to $1,500 per worker daily.
Trudeau has since asked for the Clerk of the Privy Council to review the ArriveCAN contracts and subcontracts tied to the two-person staffing firm tasked with its development and maintenance.
Canada's Auditor General Karen Hogan is also in the preliminary stages of an independent audit of the application.
Though Ottawa ended the ArriveCAN requirement on October 1, 2022, the app remains optional for people to complete their customs and immigration declaration.
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