Air Travelers Arriving Canada who refuses to quarantine in a designated hotel will soon be subject to a $5,000 fine.
The federal government has announced that beginning Friday, international air passengers who refuse to check into a quarantined hotel or decline to take their required COVID-19 tests could be slapped with a $5,000 fine for each offense, which is an increase of $2,000 from the current fine.
On Feb. 22, the government imposed a fine of $2,000 for the same offense,
The fine increase follows a government advisory panel report issued last week which stated Ottawa should scrap the hotel quarantine requirement and instead let individuals arrange their own quarantine.
The panel stated the hotel quarantine is flawed for a number of reasons, including that some travelers are choosing to bypass the rules and pay the current fine of up to $3,000.
Between April 14 and May 24, more than 1,000 travelers were fined for refusing to go to a quarantined hotel, and more than 400 were fined for not taking their pre-boarding COVID-19 test or the one required upon arrival at the airport, according to the government.
