Canadians who were caught violating federal COVID-19 quarantine rules racked up at least $15 million in fines this year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, but it's not clear how much of that will actually be paid.
The agency provided data to the House of Commons in the fall in response to a request from Conservative MP Eric Duncan.This year saw the widespread lifting of Canada's COVID-19 health restrictions. Until October, travellers were required to follow testing and quarantine rules, depending on their vaccination status, and upload their public health information through the ArriveCan app.The rules evolved over the year as public health officials responded to changing COVID-19 case levels.
Those fines totalled $14.8 million with the amounts varying, depending on the offence, from $825 to $5,000. A single ticket can sometimes include multiple offences. The data only represents a snapshot in time and the agency says more tickets were issued in September. It also notes that police are not required to report enforcement activities, so its data may be incomplete.
In the case of 765 of the 3,267 total tickets, the individual has been found guilty. Just 97 of those tickets have been paid so far, amounting to nearly $300,000.Another 638 tickets are being disputed in court, according to data provided by the province's justice department, which also noted that over 1,700 tickets have either been successfully disputed or cancelled, or remain in progress.
Manitoba's numbers also illustrate a discrepancy between the fines that are issued and what ends up being paid, given that the courts can reduce, dismiss or stay a ticket.
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