Premier Horgan hints at efforts to ban travel into B.C. Thursday

Photo: BC gov. Flickr

Premier John Horgan

Premier John Horgan hinted Thursday at the possibility of banning travel into B.C. from other provinces to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in British Columbia early last year, many in smaller Interior communities have expressed concerns about tourists visiting and possibly spreading the virus from other places.

While the provincial government has strongly urged British Columbians avoid any non-essential travel, as have officials at the federal level, no enforceable orders have been put in place.

But on Thursday morning, Horgan said his government is seeking legal advice on what restricting travel from other parts of Canada might look like.

“I hear from not just the media but from British Columbians that they're concerned about people coming from elsewhere when they're making sacrifices of their own,” Horgan said.

“It's been clear that this is of public interest, and we've been trying our best to find a way to meet that objective of the public in a way that's consistent with the Charter and other fundamental rights here in Canada.”

Section 6 of the Canadian Charter guarantees the rights of Canadians to “move to and take up residence in any province.”

The Maritime provinces have implemented non-essential travel restrictions, including requiring pre-travel approval and a mandatory 14-day quarantine for those entering the provinces. Horgan said enforcing similar restrictions in B.C. would be far more challenging, given B.C.'s size and many points of entry.

“I want to put this either to rest, so that British Columbians understand we cannot do that and we're not going to do that, or there is a way to do it and we're going to work with other provinces to achieve it,” Horgan said. “People have been talking about it for months and months and I think it's time to put it to bed.”

Horgan spoke on the matter Thursday while addressing the concerns of a doctor in Whistler, who's said many of the patients she's seen this winter are from those visiting from out of province. But concern over tourism during the pandemic has been raised across the Interior as well.

Last week, Revelstoke city councillor Cody Younker took to Facebook to share the concerns he's heard in his community, where COVID-19 cases have spiked over the last month.

“It's becoming increasingly frustrating for many in our community including myself who see the double standards,” he wrote. “The majority of people in Revelstoke have been wearing masks, social distancing, sticking to their bubbles and not travelling outside of the community (for non essential reasons). Yet we continue to see people flocking to Revelstoke to come and have a winter vacation.

“Sure, there may not be as many people visiting as in years past, but it’s still far too many than should be visiting considering we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Trust me, the majority of shoppers in the store right now are not locals.”