COVID-19 enforcement: Zero tickets handed out at road checks during B.C.'s travel ban
Police never ticketed anyone at the road checks set up to enforce B.C.'s temporary travel ban, which is being lifted on Tuesday.
B.C. first announced its travel ban, prohibiting locals from moving between three health regions, on April 23. The rules were meant to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and on June 15, that ban is being lifted.
Starting on May 6, the RCMP established regular road checks highway points between the health regions. Those included checks at Highway 1 near Boston Bar, Highway 3 near Manning Park, Highway 5 near Old Toll Booth and Highway 99 near Lillooet.
Between May 6 and June 12, Mounties say they checked 14,193 vehicles at those road blocks. Of those, 236 drivers voluntarily turned around. Another 26 were told by police they must turn around, but no tickets were issued, Mounties confirmed with CTV News Vancouver.
Drivers who refused to turn around could have been fined up to $575.
On Tuesday, B.C. is entering Step 2 of its restart plan, meaning recreational travel across the province will be permitted. With those restrictions lifting, Mounties in the province say it's not a "licence to disregard the rules of the road."
"We would like to remind all motorists to make smart decisions when it comes to driving," Supt. Holly Turton, officer in charge of BC Highway Patrol, in a news release Monday.
"Please obey the rules of the road for your safety and that of others. Our officers work hard to keep our highways safe, but we need people to drive with care so that we can make our highways safer together."
One ticket was issued for breaking the travel ban, but before May 6 and not at a road check. That ticket was given on May 1 on Vancouver Island after a driver was pulled over "for more than one driving offence."
A conversation with the driver, who was from North Vancouver, revealed that he was travelling for non-essential purposes, Cpl. Mike Halskov told CTV News Vancouver after the ticket was issued.
“The officer issued a ticket under the Emergency Program Act and directed the driver to return to the Lower Mainland immediately. The driver was also issued tickets for the driving offences,” Halskov said.
RCMP's E Division confirmed with CTV News Vancouver that no other tickets were issued outside of road checks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.