British Columbia says they can't and they won't ban interprovincial travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier John Horgan said on Jan. 14 there was concern about people coming from other provinces or territories and spreading COVID-19.
He said the idea of restricting travel was a topic of discussion for months and the government would seek legal advice to see what they could or could not do.
In a statement posted to Horgan's Twitter account tonight (Jan. 21), he says after legal consultations, they can't stop people from travelling to B.C.
“We’ve heard from many people who are worried travel from outside B.C. has contributed to the spread of COVID-19. In response to those concerns, we asked for legal options on restricting interprovincial travel and a better understanding of the impact of travel on transmission," he said.
“The review of our legal options made it clear we can’t prevent people from travelling to British Columbia.
Despite not being able to put a stop to travel, Horgan says they can, however, place restrictions on people travelling for non-essential purposes, should they not be following orders and guidelines.
"We can impose restrictions on people travelling for non-essential purposes if they are causing harm to the health and safety of British Columbians," he adds.
"Much of current interprovincial travel is work related and therefore cannot be restricted.
"Public health officials tell us what is most important is for everyone to obey health orders, wherever they are, rather than imposing mobility rules.
"Therefore, we will not be imposing travel restrictions at this time."
A review of legal options made it clear we can’t prevent people from travelling to BC.
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) January 22, 2021
We can impose restrictions on people travelling for non-essential purposes if they're harming health & safety.
Much of current interprovincial travel is work-related & can't be restricted.
Horgan said should there be an increase in COVID-19 cases from interprovincial travel, the province will impose tougher restrictions on non-essential travellers.
"We will continue to work with the tourism and hospitality sectors to make sure all possible safety precautions are in place."
If we see transmission increase due to interprovincial travel, we will impose stronger restrictions on non-essential travellers.
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) January 22, 2021
We'll continue to work with the tourism & hospitality sectors to make sure all possible safety precautions are in place.
The announcement comes amid news that thousands of people had signed an online petition calling for the B.C. government to lock down the province's borders.
A B.C. man, Christian Stapff, launched the Change.org campaign, entitled "Calling on the BC Government to lock down the borders to help stop COVID-19 spread," this week.
As of publication, there have been almost 11,000 signatures.
While restrictions on non-essential travel between Canada and the United States have been extended until at least Feb. 21, 2021, there are currently no restrictions on Canada-wide travel.
- with files from Elana Shepert, Vancouver Is Awesome, and The Canadian Press
