Travelling during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Section 6 - Mobility Rights
Aoun Etoom
The Charter states:
6.
(1) Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and
leave Canada.
(2) Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status
of a permanent resident of Canada has the right
(a) to move to and take up residence in any province; and
(b) to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.
(3) The rights specified in subsection (2) are subject to
any laws or practices of general application in force in a province other than
those that discriminate among persons primarily on the basis of province
of present or previous residence; and
any laws providing for reasonable residency requirements as a qualification for the receipt of publicly provided social services.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration in a province of conditions of individuals in that province who are socially or economically disadvantaged if the rate of employment in that province is below the rate of employment in Canada.
Mobility rights allow all Canadian citizens to leave, enter and remain in Canada. Canadian citizens and permanent residents are able to live and work anywhere in Canada. Sometimes it may be required to live in the new province for a while before you can access certain social services. Some provinces may give their own residents preference over newly arrived residents.
https://www.canada.ca/.../canadian-charter-rights-freedoms-eng.pdf
https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/mobility-rights
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Travel Restrictions
Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, public health officials were still learning about the virus. Travel restrictions were put in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Many cities, provinces and territories were trying to prevent their healthcare systems from collapsing from the rising numbers of Covid patients requiring healthcare.
On May 4, 2020, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador limited travel to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, asymptomatic workers and people with extenuating circumstances. On May 5, 2020 Kimberly Taylor’s mother died in Newfoundland and Labrador. Taylor, a resident of Nova Scotia, wanted an exemption to travel to her mother’s funeral. She did not get the exemption and she felt her mobility rights were violated. She challenged the province and the Chief Medical Health Officer saying they did not have the power to limit her mobility rights.
Taylor v Newfoundland and Labrador
Special measures
28. (1) While a declaration of a public health emergency is in effect, the Chief Medical Officer of Health may do one or more of the following for the purpose of protecting the health of the population and preventing, remedying or mitigating the effects of the public health emergency:
(h) make orders restricting travel to or from the province or an area within the province;
https://www.canlii.org/en/nl/laws/stat/snl-2018-c-p-37.3/latest/snl-2018-c-p-37.3.html
The Limitations to Mobility Rights
Justice Donald Burrage of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador said the violation of section 6(1) of the Charter could be justified, because the travel restriction related to a pressing and substantial objective: protecting the province’s population from illness and death due to imported Covid-19 cases. He continued that while the travel restriction caused Ms. Taylor mental anguish, the collective benefit to the public outweighed its harms.
https://aspercentre.ca/supreme-court-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-dismisses...
https://aspercentre.ca/supreme-court-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-dismisses...
