B.C. is attracting winter visitors from other provinces, but Premier John Horgan is skeptical that a Maritime-style travel ban is either practical or legal for the province.
The issue of inter-provincial travel was discussed at last weeksa国际传媒檚 conference call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers, particularly as Ontario and Quebec grapple with sharply rising coronavirus cases, Horgan said Thursday. He noted that Canadians have a constitutional right to travel within the country, and the government is seeking legal advice on what, if any, options they have.
sa国际传媒淥n the surface it would seem an easy thing to do, to just tell people not to come here,sa国际传媒� Horgan told reporters from the legislature Jan. 14. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 not part and parcel of who we are as Canadians. Other premiers have expressed a similar view. We want people to stay home, stay in place until we get through this. Isa国际传媒檝e appealed to other provincial premiers to make the same case, and theysa国际传媒檙e doing that. But despite that, British Columbians, Canadians are free to travel within the borders of Canada.sa国际传媒�
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In addition to the legal issues, B.C. is far larger and has longer land borders than the Atlantic provinces that unilaterally declared themselves closed to visitors to the rest of Canada early in the coronavirus pandemic.
sa国际传媒淭he Maritimes population is not as large as that of British Columbia,sa国际传媒� Horgan said. sa国际传媒楾heresa国际传媒檚 only a few ways in and out, and itsa国际传媒檚 easier to manage than it would be here in B.C.sa国际传媒�
Horgan was asked about a doctor in Whistler who raised concern about the number of out-of-province visitors who were coming to the resort communitysa国际传媒檚 medical clinic. He said the problem is occurring at many places in B.C. where tourists come from other parts of Canada, and the government will consider legal advice at a cabinet retreat this week.
sa国际传媒淚 want to put this either to rest, so that British Columbians understand that we cannot do that, and wesa国际传媒檙e not going to do that, or there is a way to do it and wesa国际传媒檙e going to work with other provinces to achieve it,sa国际传媒� Horgan said.
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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