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mere public health emergency.”15 As of today, only a few states parties
to the ICCPR have complied with the strict procedural requirements
in relation to measures adopted to combat COVID 19.16 Therefore,
all other non-compliant states that have resorted to emergency mea-
sures—including Canada as discussed below—can be seen as hav-
ing already “derogated from their [procedural] obligations under the
ICCPR.”17 Beyond the fact that procedural requirements are not fol-
lowed, the above discussion reveals, more importantly, that it is not
legally possible under international law for states to obstruct the exer-
cise of citizens’ right to return unless it is truly justified in an emer-
gency situation.
Limits to the “Right to Return” in Canada During the COVID-19
pandemic
Starting in February 2020, Canada adopted a number of orders under
its Quarantine Act18 empowering its Chief Public Health Officer to
compel any returning passenger to self-isolate at home or, for those
exhibiting signs of COVID-19, in a designated quarantine facility.19
On March 18, 2020, Canada took a more restrictive step, prohibiting,
through an interim order adopted under the Aeronautics Act,20 air
15. Adina Ponta, “Human Rights Law in the Time of the Coronavirus” (20 April 2020),
online: ASILÂ Insights <www.asil.org/insights/volume/24/issue/5/human-rights-
law-time-coronavirus>.
16. These states are Armenia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia,
Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Palestine, Peru, and Romania. See “OCHR &
Human Rights Committee Address Derogations During Covid-19” (29 April
2020), online: International Justice Resource Center <ijrcenter.org/2020/04/29/ohchr-
human-rights-committee-address-derogations-during-covid-19>.
17. Joseph, supra note 9.
18. Quarantine Act, SC 2005, c 20.
19. PC numbers 2020-0059 (3 February 2020); 2020-0070 (17 February 2020); 2020-
0071 (19 February 2020); 2020-0157 (18 March 2020); 2020-061 (20 March 2020);
2020-0162 (22 March 2020); 2020-0175 (24 March 2020); 2020-0184 (26 March
2020); 2020-0185 (26 March 2020); 2020-0260 (14 April 2020); 2020-0263 (20 April
2020). See Government of Canada, “Orders in Council Division” (30 April 2017),
online: Orders in Council online database <orders-in-council.canada.ca/results.php?
pageNum=4&lang=en>.
20. “Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada
due to COVID-19” (18 March 2020), online: Transport Canada <www.tc.gc.ca/
eng/mediaroom/interim-order-prevent-certain-persons-boarding-flights-can-
ada-covid-19.html>. This order was updated a number of times after March 18.
The latest version is dated May 26, 2020. See “Interim Order to Prevent Certain
Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19, No. 9”, online:
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International