Seite - 304 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE304 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: ASIL  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: