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GETTOOLS.GETDOING.AUTUMN BUCKAutumn, who is Cree and Ojibwe,
made blankets with her class
that symbolize the impact of
colonization on Indigenous
communities and the long road
to healing, gifting them to spark
conversations on reconciliation.SACRED CIRCLE, MADE
POSSIBLE BY THE SLAIGHT
FAMILY FOUNDATIONA leadership program, supported
by the Slaight Family Foundation,
that is empowering Indigenous
youth to make change and become
the heroes of their own stories.KIARRA LEGGOUpon learning of her
Mi’kmaq heritage, Kiarra
fundraised in her community,
Medicine Hat, going silent
on behalf of the over 2,
missing and murdered
Indigenous women.A8 | NEWS O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| FRIDAY,MARCH27,
Some Canadians who return from
abroad showing symptoms of the
new coronavirus could be taken
to a federal quarantine site for two
weeks, Canada’s Chief Public
Health Officer said Thursday, as
all levels of government looked to
ramp up enforcement.
At an Ottawa briefing on Thurs-
day, Dr. Theresa Tam explained
how the federal government
plans to use powers afforded to it
under the Quarantine Act – legis-
lation designed to protect health
through measures to prevent the
introduction and spread of dis-
ease – to force travellers to adhere
to mandatory self-isolation.
Canadians who are symptom-
atic upon arrival will immediately
receive an order to go into self-iso-
lation, and if they cannot travel in
a private vehicle, local public-
health authorities will help to co-
ordinate transportation, Dr. Tam
said Thursday.
She said, however, that individ-
uals could be placed in a federal
quarantine site should they not
be able to get home or if they live
with someone who is elderly or
has underlying medical condi-
tions.
The federalgovernment’s deci-
sion to turn to mandatory self-iso-
lation measures in the legislation
is occurring after some Canadians
failed to comply with public-
health recommendations follow-
ing travel and while provinces
and territories grapple with their
own concerns about ensuring
compliance, including through
enforcement mechanisms.
Asymptomatic travellers, Dr.
Tam said Thursday, will be told to
move on as fast as possible to their
homes and will also be given the
order to self-isolate, which will ex-
plain specific penalties associated
with a breach.
“We will do random checks on
the asymptomatic people,” Dr.
Tam said.
“That can be done in different
ways, [including by] a telephone
call. Of course, we collaborate
with local public health as well,
some of whom have also got man-
datory orders to self-isolate.”
Leah West, a lecturer at the Nor-
man Paterson School of Interna-
tional Affairs at Carleton Univer-
sity who specializes in national-
security law, said Thursday that
the use of personal information
for the purpose of follow-up by
public-health officials would be in
accordance with the law, adding
no one wants to see law enforce-
ment move to engage in surveil-
lance of individuals in their com-
munities.
It is in the interest of local pub-
lic health to follow up on resi-
dents in their jurisdiction, Dr. Tam
said. She did warn that the Quar-antine Act carries “hefty penal-
ties” but that Ottawa hopes their
application will be infrequent.Late Wednesday, Health Minis-
ter Patty Hajdu’s office said maxi-
mum penalties for breaching the
order include a fine of up to
$750,000 and/or imprisonment
for a period of six months.
Police officers could be en-
gaged if need be, Dr. Tam said,
adding that the decision to use theQuarantine Act is designed to
serve as a deterrent.
Barbara von Tigerstrom, a pro-
fessor in public-health law at the
University of Saskatchewan, said
Thursday that she is not aware of
any cases of individuals being
prosecuted for violating a Quar-
antine Act order.
The government is ultimately
issuing a reminder to Canadians
in the minority who have not seri-
ously taken the need to self-iso-
late when they return from inter-
national travel, Ms. Hajdu said.
The measures announced by
Ottawa follow moves by other lev-
els of government across Canada
ramping up their own enforce-
ment efforts.
On the East Coast, a 53-year-old
woman is at the centre of what’s
now among the first coronavirus-
connected cases to reach Cana-
da’s criminal courts.
The woman, who recently ar-
rived to Newfoundland and La-
brador from Nova Scotia, is not in-fected with COVID-19, but the
Royal Newfoundland Constabul-
ary says she was twice found in
public places in Corner Brook.
Now, she stands accused of
flouting repeated police warnings
for her to abide by provincial or-
ders stating that new arrivals to
the province have to quarantine
themselves indoors.
“The woman was released,”
Crown lawyer Adam Sparkes said
after a court hearing Thursday.
She still faces a charge of con-
travening special measures, but
has agreed to release conditions
stating that she will comply with
public-health directives.
In Quebec, police in Gatineau
investigated a noise complaint
early Wednesday and fined a rent-
er $1,000 for violating new social-
distancing directives. Five people,
some of them non-residents, were
found inside the apartment.
The previous week in Quebec
City, an infected woman was
formally cautioned by police after
she was found taking a walk out-
side.
In Ontario’s York Region, offi-
cials are looking at why a 72-year-
old woman died of COVID-
mere hours after she stepped off a
plane that landed at nearby Pear-
son Airport. She was returning
from a vacation. Subsequent test-
ing revealed that she had con-
tracted the coronavirus.
“We don’t know where she
would have acquired the infec-
tion from, but apparently she was
received at the airport by her son
and daughter-in-law,” said Dr. Ka-
rim Kurji, the municipality’s med-
ical officer of health. “Upon arriv-
al at her son’s place, she seems to
have collapsed after a period of
acute illness.”
Some governments are already
calling in reinforcements, as they
anticipate crackdowns to come as
the disease spreads. For example,
on Thursday, theB.C. government
said it will bolster its public-
health measures by “enabling
municipal bylaw officers to sup-
port enforcement of the Provin-
cial Health Officer’s orders for
business closures and gather-
ings.”OttawaplanstowielditsQuarantineActpowers
Federalgovernment
toforcereturning
travellerstoself-isolate,
underthreatoffines
orimprisonment
KRISTYKIRKUP
COLINFREEZE
CanadiancitizenslineupoutsidetheconsulateinLimaonThursdaytocheckinforrepatriationbecauseof
coronaviruslockdown.CRISBOURONCLE/AFP/GETTYIMAGESThegovernmentis
ultimatelyissuinga
remindertoCanadians
intheminoritywho
havenotseriouslytaken
theneedtoself-isolate
whentheyreturnfrom
internationaltravel,
[HealthMinister
Patty]Hajdusaid.