By Canadian Press

B.C. civil liberties group joins Supreme Court challenge of N.L. COVID restrictions

Apr 14, 2025 | 10:27 AM

ST. JOHN’S — The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is intervening in a Supreme Court of Canada case this week examining the constitutionality of Newfoundland and Labrador’s COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.

In a news release today, the association says it will argue the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects permanent residents’ right to move between and within provinces, just as it does for citizens.

It will also argue that individual communities, particularly those run by Indigenous governments, should have control over who can and cannot access their land.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is leading the case, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The case began in 2020, when Nova Scotia resident Kimberley Taylor couldn’t attend her mother’s funeral in Newfoundland because she was denied an exemption to a public health order banning all non-residents from entering the province.

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The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled that the order violated Taylor’s constitutional right to travel anywhere in Canada, but that the circumstances of the pandemic justified that Charter infringement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2025.

The Canadian Press