Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19
Whereas the annexed Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19 is required to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to aviation safety or the safety of the public;
Whereas the provisions of the annexed Order may be contained in a regulation made pursuant to sections 4.71Footnotea and 4.9Footnoteb, paragraphs 7.6(1)(a)Footnotec and (b)Footnoted and section 7.7Footnotee of the Aeronautics ActFootnotef;
And whereas, pursuant to subsection 6.41(1.2)Footnoteg of that Act, the Minister of Transport has consulted with the persons and organizations that the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances before making the annexed Order;
Therefore, the Minister of Transport, pursuant to subsection 6.41(1)Footnoteg of the Aeronautics ActFootnotef, makes the annexed Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19.
Ottawa, , 2020
Le ministre des Transports,
Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport
Interim Order to Prevent Certain Persons from Boarding Flights to Canada due to COVID-19
Interpretation
Definition of Regulations
1 (1) In this Interim Order, Regulations means the Canadian Aviation Regulations.
Interpretation
(2) Unless the context requires otherwise, all other words and expressions used in this Interim Order have the same meaning as in the Regulations.
Conflict
(3) In the event of a conflict between this Interim Order and the Regulations, the Interim Order prevails.
Application
Application — boarding denied to foreign nationals
2 (1) Sections 3 to 5 of this Interim Order apply to air carriers operating flights to Canada and that operate an aircraft under Part VII of the Regulations, except an air carrier that operates an aircraft under Subpart 2 of Part VII of the Regulations.
Application — health check
(2) Sections 6 to 10 of this Interim Order apply to the following air carriers operating flights to Canada and to their passengers:
- (a) an air carrier that operates an aircraft with a passenger seating configuration of 20 or more, excluding pilot seats, under Subpart 1 of Part VII of the Regulations; and
- (b) an air carrier that operates an aircraft under Subpart 5 of Part VII of the Regulations.
Boarding Denied to Foreign Nationals
Definitions
3 The following definitions apply in sections 4 and 5.
foreign national means a person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and includes a stateless person. (étranger)
immediate family member, in respect of a person means
- (a) the spouse or common-law partner of the person;
- (b) a dependent child of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner; or
- (c) a dependent child of a dependent child referred to in paragraph (b). (membre de la famille immédiate)
Prohibition
4 An air carrier is prohibited from permitting a foreign national to board an aircraft for an international flight to Canada.
Non-application
5 Section 4 does not apply to the following persons:
- (a) a person who has been only in the United States or Canada during the period of 14 days before the day on which they board;
- (b) an immediate family member of a Canadian citizen or of a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
- (c) a person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act;
- (d) a person who is authorized, in writing, by a consular officer of the Government of Canada to enter Canada for the purpose of reuniting immediate family members;
- (e) a crew member;
- (f) a person who is exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa under paragraph 190(2)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and the immediate family members of that person;
- (g) a person who enters Canada at the invitation of the Minister of Health for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 coronavirus disease response;
- (h) a person who arrives by means of an aircraft operated by the Canadian Forces or the Department of National Defence;
- (i) a member of the Canadian Forces or a visiting force as defined in section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act and the immediate family members of that member;
- (j) a protected person within the meaning of subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
- (k) a French citizen who resides in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and has been only in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the United States or Canada during the period of 14 days before the day on which they board;
- (l) a person or any person in a class of persons who, in the opinion of Chief Public Health Officer appointed under subsection 6(1) of the Public Health Agency of Canada Act
- (i) does not pose a risk of significant harm to public health, or
- (ii) will provide an essential service while in Canada;
- (m) a person whose presence in Canada, in the opinion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is in the national interest; or
- (n) a person in transit through Canada to another country.
Health Check Before Boarding
Health check — air carriers
6 Subject to section 8, an air carrier must conduct, at the boarding gate, a health check of every person prior to their boarding an aircraft for a flight to Canada.
Health check
7 (1) An air carrier conducting the health check must ask questions of every person regarding any signs and symptoms of illness suggesting respiratory infection referred to in the World Health Organization’s document entitled Management of ill travellers at points of entry – international airports, ports and ground crossings – in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak, in particular the following symptoms:
- (a) a fever higher than 38°C or feeling feverish;
- (b) a cough; and
- (c) breathing difficulties.
Additional question
(2) In addition to the health check, the air carrier must ask every person if they have been refused boarding in the past 14 days due to a medical reason related to COVID-19.
False declaration — obligation for air carrier
(3) The air carrier must advise every person not to provide answers to the health check or the additional question in a way they know to be false or misleading.
Exception
8 The air carrier is not required to conduct the health check for the following persons:
- (a) a crew member; or
- (b) a person who provides a medical certificate certifying that symptoms referred to in subsection 7(1) are not related to COVID-19.
Refusal to Board
Prohibition
9 The air carrier is prohibited from allowing a person to board an aircraft if
- (a) the person’s answers to the health check indicate that they may have signs or symptoms of COVID-19;
- (b) the air carrier’s observations during the health check indicate that the person may have signs or symptoms of COVID-19;
- (c) the person’s answer to the additional question asked to them under subsection 7(2) is in the affirmative; or
- (d) the person is a competent adult and refuses to answer any questions asked of them under subsections 7(1) or (2).
Wait period of 14 days
10 A person who is prohibited from boarding under section 9 is not permitted to board an aircraft for the purpose of being transported for a period of 14 days after the refusal, unless they have a medical certificate certifying that any symptoms referred to in subsection 7(1) are not related to COVID-19.
Designated Provisions
Designation
11 (1) The provisions of this Interim Order set out in column 1 of the schedule are designated as provisions the contravention of which may be dealt with under and in accordance with the procedure set out in sections 7.7 to 8.2 of the Act.
Maximum amounts
(2) The amounts set out in column 2 of the schedule are the maximum amounts of the penalty payable in respect of a contravention of the designated provisions set out in column 1.
Notice
(3) A notice referred to in subsection 7.7(1) of the Act must be in writing and must specify
- (a) the particulars of the alleged contravention;
- (b) that the person on whom the notice is served or to whom it is sent has the option of paying the amount specified in the notice or filing with the Tribunal a request for a review of the alleged contravention or the amount of the penalty;
- (c) that payment of the amount specified in the notice will be accepted by the Minister in satisfaction of the amount of the penalty for the alleged contravention and that no further proceedings under Part I of the Act will be taken against the person on whom the notice in respect of that contravention is served or to whom it is sent;
- (d) that the person on whom the notice is served or to whom it is sent will be provided with an opportunity consistent with procedural fairness and natural justice to present evidence before the Tribunal and make representations in relation to the alleged contravention if the person files a request for a review with the Tribunal; and
- (e) that the person on whom the notice is served or to whom it is sent will be considered to have committed the contravention set out in the notice if they fail to pay the amount specified in the notice and fail to file a request for a review with the Tribunal within the prescribed period.
Coming into Force
March 18, 2020
12 (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Interim Order comes into force at noon Eastern Daylight Time on March 18, 2020.
March 19, 2020
(2) Sections 6 to 10 come into force at 00:00:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 19, 2020.
Schedule
(Subsections 11(1) and (2))