Two week quarantine imposed on Ontario woman after day trip to Buffalo
A Toronto-area woman has been forced to isolate for 14 days after returning from a day trip to the United States and forgetting to fill out her ArriveCAN app.
Laurie Fonseca spent just seven hours shopping across the border in Buffalo, New York, but when the fully vaccinated Mississauga woman and her friend were returning to Canada at the Rainbow Bridge crossing, they were told to quarantine for two weeks due to not pre-registering on the ArriveCAN app.
“It was like being kicked in the gut,” Fonseca told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. “I'm basically bound in my house for 14 days and I'm a Canadian citizen, fully vaccinated — this makes absolutely no sense to me.”
The Canada Border Services said in a release issued Tuesday that the ArriveCAN app “remains mandatory for everyone, regardless if travellers enter by land/air/marine or how long they were away from Canada.”
Canadian citizens, permanent residents and persons registered under the Indian Act will not be denied entry if they do not submit their information in the ArriveCan app, but will not be eligible for the fully vaccinated traveller exemption, may face additional delays at the border for public health questioning and may be subject to fines or enforcement action.
Fonseca says she asked the CBSA officer whether she could park her car and fill out the registration then but was denied.
Fonseca’s travelling companion will miss an important family event due to the imposed quarantine, she says.
“She's got a flight on Dec. 14th at 9 p.m. to go back home to England for her brother's 60th birthday,” Fonseca said. “The border guard said, ‘Well she won't be going because quarantine ends at 11:59 p.m.’”
Canada Border Services declined to speak on the specifics of this case, but highlighted that it's a must to have the ArriveCAN app filled out and to do your homework before travelling across the border.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Austin Delaney.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Robert Pickton to remain in medically induced coma until later this week: police
Serial killer Robert Pickton will remain in a medically induced coma for at least the next few days following an attack in a Quebec prison Sunday, according to police spokesperson Hugues Beaulieu.
Charlie Colin, founding member of the pop-rock band Train, dies at 58
Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like 'Drops of Jupiter' and 'Meet Virginia,' has died. He was 58.
'Five feet nothing': Pickton's safety likely behind Quebec transfer, says ex-prison judge
When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from British Columbia's Kent Institution to a maximum security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities gave no public explanation or confirmation at the time, citing privacy.
'I feel betrayed': Ottawa-area customers out thousands of dollars warn of bad faith contractor
A group of people from eastern Ontario and western Quebec is issuing a warning about Dennis Walker and his company Vue Windows.
Fancy pigeon outfitted in custom diaper has free rein in B.C. family home
When Chrissy Chin volunteered to take in a fancy pigeon abandoned on a park bench, she never imagined she would one day be ordering custom-made diapers for the bird – who lives in her house and has become a member of the family.
'We'll need all hands on deck': Details emerge after deadly boat crash near Kingston
Police say they have wrapped up their on-scene investigation into a deadly boat crash in eastern Ontario as details of the incident begin to emerge.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.
5 dead and at least 35 hurt in Iowa tornado: officials
Five people died and at least 35 were hurt as powerful tornadoes ripped through Iowa Tuesday, with one carving a path of destruction through the town of Greenfield, officials said.
Woman found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017 matches identity of missing person in Switzerland
Genetic genealogy has helped Toronto police identify a woman who was found dead in Lake Ontario in 2017.