Trudeau's Gestapo Covid Policy Tears Family Apart
Wrong turn on the way to hockey leads to two weeks of self-isolation
Unless exempted, Hampton mom can't spend Christmas with 15-year-old who lives with her
Mia Urquhart · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2020 6:42 PM AT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
After being ordered out of their vehicle by U.S. border guards on Sunday, two Hampton families now have to self-isolate for two weeks after missing their turn-off to St. Stephen. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Debra Blackmore was just trying to get her son to a hockey game in St. Stephen on Sunday when GPS led them straight to the U.S. border.
Not wanting to do anything illegal or suspicious by pulling a U-turn, they proceeded to the gate to explain their predicament to the guard.
Blackmore, who was travelling with another hockey mom from Hampton, thought they'd be allowed to turn around and be on their way. After all, they had two 12-year-old boys in the back who were partially dressed in their hockey gear.
Instead, that inadvertent detour has led to two weeks of self-isolation. Unless an exemption is granted, it could mean a Christmas where Blackmore can't see her oldest daughter and one-year-old grandson. She also has to self-isolate from her 15-year-old daughter so that her daughter can continue to go to school and other activities.
"So I'm not going to be able to spend Christmas morning with her — even though we live in the same house," said Blackmore.
"It's just ridiculous. We've gone through so many emotions. Most of all, I cannot believe that this is happening."
Canada border services guards told Debra Blackmore that she would have to self-isolate for two weeks. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
Blackmore operates a daycare and she's had to shut that down for the quarantine period.
She wonders if there isn't a better way to deal with people who inadvertently end up at the border. After all, border officials told them they were the third rink-bound vehicle to end up there on Sunday.
Arriving in St. Stephen via Route 1, all vehicles end up at the border unless they take an exit along the way. By the time Blackmore and her travelling companions realized their mistake, they were afraid to break any rules or laws by turning around.
So they continued to the gate, where they talked to the first person they encountered.
The guard told them that because they had arrived at the booth, they would have to show identification, which they did. They were then instructed to pull into one of the parking spaces to complete COVID-related paperwork.
They were all sitting in the car, all wearing masks, when a female guard came out and ordered the driver to turn off the vehicle and everyone to get out.
"By this time, we're shaking," said Blackmore.
It just doesn't make any sense because we were just doing what the border patrol told us to do.- Debra Blackmore
As they waited inside the building, a sniffer dog went through the entire car, including the boys' hockey bags.
U.S. border guards gave them a letter to give to Canadian guards, stating that they didn't intentionally enter the United States.
But when Canadian officials heard the travellers had exited their vehicle and gone inside the building on U.S. soil, they were told they would have to self-isolate.
"We were just doing what the border patrol told us to do," said Blackmore. "We asked to turn around and then they made us come through, so it didn't even dawn upon us that quarantine would be an issue."
And then it hit them.
"We looked at each other and we were like, 14 days? That's Christmas, and then both of us were like, do we cry? We were super emotional."
Blackmore said they weren't allowed to leave until they had a quarantine plan in place. They were instructed to drive straight home — no stops along the way — to begin their self-isolation.
Blackmore's family had just finished another quarantine related to a case at Hampton Middle School. Her daycare had only been open for a week before she had to contact all her families on Sunday to tell them she has to close again.
And then there's Christmas.
She said her brother is alone and always spends the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at her house with her family, and her daughter and grandson come on Christmas morning.
"We don't really have a lot of people," Blackmore said. "It's all we've got and to take that away from them is unnecessary."
Each inspection unique
Michael McCarthy, the public affairs officer for the northeast region for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said there isn't a single protocol to deal with lost motorists at the border.
"Each inspection process will vary," he said.
In some cases, vehicles will be turned around without the occupants having to exit. Others will be asked to leave their vehicle so that it can be searched.
McCarthy said border guards respond to "the totality of the circumstances."
The bottom line is that officials reserve the right to inspect a vehicle once it enters American territory, he said.
"So it is incumbent upon drivers to pay attention to road markers," said McCarthy.
And he doesn't recommend making a U-turn within sight of U.S. border officials either.
What happens with Canadian officials when vehicles return to Canadian soil isn't something they consider in their interactions with travellers, said McCarthy.
Although public health officials in New Brunswick are usually in charge of quarantine rules, because the vehicle technically entered the U.S., any quarantine requirements fall under the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Bruce Macfarlane, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Department of Health.
After several calls and messages left, an official with the Public Health Agency of Canada sent an email to say someone would respond to CBC's request for information. So far, no one has responded.
Exemptions possible
According to information provided by Rebecca Purdy, of the Canada Border Services Agency, exemptions can be issued for travellers who don't exhibit any signs of COVID-19, as outlined in section 6 of the Order-in-council 2020-0967 (Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Mandatory Isolation), No. 8).
The order-in-council says an exemption from the requirement to quarantine is made if:
(y) a person who enters Canada in a conveyance at a lunand border crossing in the following circumstances, if the person remained in the conveyance while outside Canada:
(i) the person was denied entry to the United States at the land border crossing, or
(ii) the person entered the territory of the United States but did not seek legal entry to the United States at the land border crossing.
Purdy also said "CBSA border services officers do not have discretion to exempt travellers based on an assumed level of risk. CBSA officers use the information available to them at the time the traveller is seeking entry into Canada to determine which set of instructions (exempt or required to quarantine) are to be provided to the traveller."
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