Health Canada Spent at Least $1.5M on Police to Help With Quarantine, ArriveCan Compliance

Police and health workers wait for arrivals at the COVID-19 testing centre in Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Feb. 3, 2021. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn

Police resources were diverted from normal duties to help federal public health authorities enforce the Quarantine Act and ArriveCan compliance at airports, The Epoch Times has learned.

“Between the end of 2020 to the end of March 2022, $1.5 million was paid for police services at 10 Ports of Entry, including airports and designated quarantine facilities,” Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) spokesperson Mark Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson told The Epoch Times that police services were retained either through contracts with the airport authorities or through agreements with local police services.

Peel Regional Police, which has jurisdiction at Toronto Pearson International Airport, confirmed to The Epoch Times in September that PHAC had hired additional officers from its ranks through paid duties.

“Police have authority to, at the request of a screening officer or quarantine officer, arrest without a warrant any traveler who refuses to comply with measures under the Quarantine Act,” said spokesperson Jennifer Dagg.

Video evidence and testimony indicate Peel Police officers have threatened to detain returning Canadian travellers for refusing to fill the previously mandatory ArriveCan form, which can be completed through a smartphone app or on the web.

Sandra Dania posted a video on social media of her interaction with Peel Police officers at Pearson on Sept. 7 in which one officer tells Dania she will be detained for not complying.

“If I’m not going [to see PHAC quarantine officers], if I want to just go home...” says Dania to the officer.

“You can’t, we’ll have to detain you,” says the officer.

Dania told the Epoch Times in an interview that she had been made aware through social media prior to returning to Canada that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was not responsible for enforcing the Quarantine Act and allows Canadians into the country who are non-compliant while referring them to PHAC quarantine officers.

Given that those officers don’t have the power to detain, there are anecdotes backed by video of returning Canadians who chose to simply skip a meeting with PHAC to avoid filling out ArriveCan and be handed an over $5,000 fine for non-compliance.

Dania says she spent about 30 to 40 minutes arguing with police and PHAC agents in an attempt to get out of filling out ArriveCan, but she eventually caved to avoid being detained or given a hefty fine.

“I don’t think it’s right, I think it’s a lot more than just filling an app,” Dania said about her reasons for trying to avoid using ArriveCan. “I look at it in the bigger context of what happened in the past two years.”

“ArriveCan is just one of the many ways they’re using to intimidate people.”

ArriveCan Woes

The federal government removed the mandatory use of ArriveCan to enter Canada on Oct. 1, along with other border measures targeting unvaccinated travellers.

The now-voluntary system is used to capture vaccination status, travel plans, and previously the quarantine plan for unvaccinated Canadians.

ArriveCan has been under fire for a number of reasons in recent months, with the latest controversy surrounding its hefty cost.

Creating the smartphone app cost $80,000, but the price tag eventually ballooned to $54 million with maintenance and operating costs.

The Globe and Mail also reported on Oct. 21 that the firm listed as having received the largest contract for the app, $1.2 million, actually never worked on it.

The House of Commons government operations committee voted unanimously on Oct. 20 to examine all contracts related to the ArriveCan app.

The app, which according to its privacy policy can send user data to international entities, has also experienced glitches that ordered complying vaccinated Canadians into quarantine.

Peter Wilson contributed to this report.