Canada’s designated COVID-19 quarantine facilities cost nearly $389M over 3 years: PHAC – National | 24CA News

The federal authorities spent simply shy of $389 million over three years on its designated COVID-19 quarantine services, in line with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In a press release supplied to Global News on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada mentioned there have been a complete of 38 websites arrange as designated quarantine services between March 2020 and September 2022.

“DQFs and alternate sites were active in a total of 14 cities across Canada: Whitehorse, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton, Halifax and St. John’s,” mentioned Tammy Jarbeau, a spokesperson for PHAC and Health Canada.

“In total, $388.7 million was spent on DQFs between April 2020 to December 2022.”

The designated quarantine services have been preparations arrange by the federal authorities with inns below Section 7 of the Quarantine Act. They “provided travellers a place to quarantine or isolate and helped limit the spread of COVID-19 through our communities,” Jarbeau mentioned.

“The costs associated with this program included lodging, meals, security, traveller support and transportation.”

During the fiscal yr of 2020-21, the federal government spent $158.5 on these services. The following fiscal yr, that price dropped barely to $153 million, earlier than dropping once more in 2022-23 to $77.2 million.

The price ticket hooked up to those quarantine services first made headlines this week after Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner posted concerning the contract in place for one designated quarantine facility in her hometown of Calgary.

The doc with the pricing info was disclosed by the federal government on Monday in response to an order paper query submitted by Rempel Garner final month. It confirmed the federal government spent greater than $26 million over three years on the contract with the Westin Calgary Airport lodge, which was one of many designated quarantine services.

A complete of 1,490 individuals quarantined at that location between June 2020 and June 2022, in line with a duplicate of the order paper query launched to Global News by the Library of Parliament.

Per yr, that broke right down to 119 individuals staying within the Westin Calgary Airport lodge at a price of $8.9 million in 2020, 1,356 individuals staying there in 2021 at a price of $11.1 million, and 15 individuals staying there in 2022 at a price of $6.8 million.

The Public Health Agency of Canada famous in its response to the order paper query that as a result of the info was manually collected, “it is possible there is a small degree of human error when determining the amount the federal government paid to the Westin Calgary Airport hotel.”

“This is just something that I think will really hit home with a lot of Canadians of all political stripe, at a time where we’re really struggling to make ends meet and we’re really talking about affordability on lodging, on housing,” Rempel Garner mentioned in an interview with Global News on Tuesday.

Travellers have been required to quarantine upon arrival to Canada for a lot of the pandemic.

Those who couldn’t present proof of an acceptable quarantine plan between Feb. 21, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022, have been required to quarantine at one of many designated quarantine services, described by Health Canada as “a last resort for travellers.”

Canada ultimately lifted all of its travel-related quarantine necessities in October of 2022.

2:23Border officers can display, advise individuals on COVID-19 if wanted: Duclos

When pressed on the worth tag hooked up to those lodge stays on Tuesday, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos mentioned the federal government’s “primary responsibility” was “to protect the safety and the health of Canadians, including the tens of thousands of people who had to access designated quarantine facilities.”

“Because of these measures, and vaccinations in addition, we have saved together tens of thousands of lives and tens of billions of dollars in economic costs,” he mentioned.

Still, throughout the years the quarantine services operated, tales emerged of plenty of points with the lodging all through the pandemic.

In the weeks after the three-day quarantine rule was applied, travellers reported lengthy wait instances and difficulties reserving a spot to remain forward of their arrival in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada additionally launched an investigation into allegations that two returning travellers have been sexually assaulted throughout their necessary quarantine durations.

There are presently no extra quarantine services in operation, the spokesperson for PHAC and Health Canada mentioned, including that the federal government held “discussions with hotels to confirm the end date of the agreements.”

Designated quarantine services weren’t the identical as government-authorized lodging. The federal authorities contracted with the inns that turned designated quarantine services, whereas there have been no federal contracts in place for government-authorized lodging.

Rather, these have been inns authorised by the federal government the place individuals might guide themselves in for his or her isolation necessities upon arrival to the nation.

— with recordsdata from Global News’ Amanda Connolly, Craig Momney and Jayme Doll 

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