October 2004

Information

Questions And Answers - Updated Quarantine Act

Q. Why is the Government of Canada introducing an updated Quarantine Act?

A. Several significant public health events - SARS, West Nile virus and avian influenza - have shown us that infectious disease outbreaks continue to threaten our health. The Government of Canada recognizes that we need to do more on public health, to protect the health and lives of Canadians.

On February 2^nd, 2004, in the Speech from the Throne, the Government of Canada committed to the modernization of health protection legislation as an ongoing objective.

Dr. David Naylor, chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health, also recommended legislative changes to better address the risks posed by new or re-emerging infectious diseases.

An updated Quarantine Act will address urgent issues with respect to the spread of communicable diseases. It is also a first step in a series of legislative initiatives that would establish a comprehensive framework for public health, including the creation of a Public Health Agency of Canada and new Canadian health protection legislation.

Q How has the Quarantine Act been updated?

A The updated Quarantine Act will add an additional layer of protection by providing strong, flexible, up to date legislative tools that will allow us to respond quickly to prevent the import and export of communicable diseases. The updated Act is also more focussed on airline travel, rather than marine travel.

The federal government's legislative authority to screen, examine and detain arriving and departing individuals, conveyances (e.g., airplane, cargo ship) and their goods and cargo, which may be a public health risk to Canadians and people worldwide, have been updated and expanded to include contemporary public health measures.

For the most part, the powers to screen, medically assess and detain travellers remain unchanged. Where there are incidents or risks to public health, the updated Act continues to allow for public health measures at Canadian points of entry, such as:

• screening travellers by Customs officials or detection devices;
• referring travellers to a Quarantine Officer who may conduct an initial health assessment, order a medical examination, vaccination or other prophylactic measures; order travellers to report to a local public health authority; or detain any person who refuses a medical examination, vaccination, etc.;
• inspecting conveyances (e.g., airlines, cargo ships) and ordering decontamination, disinfection, etc.; and
• detaining passengers or conveyances until there is no longer a risk to public health.

Furthermore, the Act has been updated to provide the flexibility and response tools required to address communicable disease outbreaks that are occurring in an age where travel times are measured in hours rather than weeks. New powers include the ability to divert aircraft to an alternate landing site if it is necessary to isolate passengers, to establish quarantine facilities at any location in Canada, and to order that carriers from certain countries or regions of the world not enter Canada if there are serious concerns that such an arrival may threaten the public health of Canadians.

The updated Act is also more in line with proposed revisions to the World Health Organizations's International Health Regulations.

Q. What legislation is in place now with respect to quarantine?

A The existing Quarantine Act has remained largely unchanged since the adoption of the first Quarantine Act in 1872. It helps protect Canadians from the importation of dangerous, infectious and contagious diseases. It also helps prevent the spread of these diseases beyond Canada's borders.

However, it was initially designed for a period when transportation of people and goods was slower, and communicable disease outbreaks were more localized. Health Canada is now proposing an Act that modernizes the outdated and redundant provisions, and is more focussed on airline travel, rather than marine travel.

Each province and territory also has their respective public health and emergency legislation in place, which includes aspects of quarantine.

Q. How will the proposed new legislation help ensure an outbreak of disease will be better managed, should another SARS-like outbreak occur?

A. The new legislation will enable the Government of Canada to respond more effectively to disease outbreaks. It includes increased powers to apply public health measures at Canadian borders, to prevent communicable diseases entering into Canada or being spread to other countries.

For example, under the proposed Act, conveyance owners would be required to report an illness or the death of a passenger before arrival or departure. It would also provide the Minister of Health with additional powers to, for example:

• appoint Screening Officers, Quarantine Officers, and Environmental Assessment Officers;
• establish quarantine facilities at any location in Canada;
• take temporary possession of premises to use as a detention facility if necessary; and
• divert conveyances (e.g., airlines, cargo ships) to alternate landing sites.

Q. Will the new proposed legislation affect inter-provincial movement?

A. No. We continue to work with our provincial and territorial government partners regarding public health measures that can be taken to control the spread of communicable disease within and between provinces.

Q. Will the new legislation allow the Government of Canada to close Canadian border points to carriers arriving from an affected region?

A. While this would be an extreme measure, the Government of Canada would be able to close Canadian border points in the event of a public health emergency. That is, if there is an outbreak of a serious communicable disease in another country, the Government of Canada could prevent entry to a carrier if that would prevent the introduction or spread of the communicable disease in Canada, and there is no other reasonable alternative.

Q. Under the updated Act, can officials detain departing passengers?

A. Yes. If officials believe that a person intending to leave Canada poses a significant danger to the public health of the destination country, that person will be asked to undergo a medical assessment, and could be detained if the examination concludes the person poses a significant risk. While these powers exist under the current Act with respect to infectious and contagious diseases, the updated Act lists many more communicable diseases for which Canadian officials can detain departing passengers.

Q. Why is this updated Act being introduced now?

A. Emerging from the SARS crisis, the first priority for the Department was to revitalize the Quarantine Service. Health Canada continues to maintain Quarantine Services at the Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal (Mirabel, Pierre Elliot Trudeau), Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Ottawa international airports. Quarantine Officers on site at these airports provide health assessments for international travellers who are identified as ill.

The next priority was to ensure that these officers could access the full range of contemporary public health measures when required. The current Quarantine Act was reviewed and found to be outdated and in many cases redundant. The updated Quarantine Act addresses urgent issues with respect to the spread of communicable diseases. It is also a first step in a series of legislative initiatives that would establish a comprehensive framework for public health, including the creation of a Public Health Agency for Canada and the renewal of health protection legislation.

Q. What Government of Canada departments are involved in implementing this Act, and what are their roles?

A. The Minister of Health is responsible for administering the Act. The powers under the Act are exercised by Quarantine Officers and Environmental Health Officers. In addition, Customs Officials employed by Canada Border Services Agency are responsible for screening travellers and conveyances arriving in Canada, and referring travellers who are suspected of having a communicable disease, to a Quarantine Officer. Environmental Health Officers are responsible for inspecting conveyances and ensuring conveyances, goods and cargo are not carrying agents of communicable diseases. The RCMP may be asked to assist officers when travellers fail to comply with orders and may arrest those who are in contravention.

Q. Does the updated Act take into consideration the recommendations made in the report from the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health (Naylor report)?

A. The updated Act addresses Dr. Naylor's recommended legislative changes to better address the risks posed by new or re-emerging infectious diseases.

Dr. Naylor also questioned whether federal authority could be extended to include restrictions on interprovincial travel. While this power is not included in the new Act, it will be examined in consultation with the provinces and dealt with separately, possibly as future amendments to the proposed legislation.

Q. How does this legislation fit within the broader context of public health, public security, and legislation renewal?

A. The new Quarantine Act is an important public health tool and complements existing provincial/territorial public health legislation that deals with public health within provincial/territorial borders.

New quarantine legislation is the first in a series of legislation renewal initiatives to protect and improve the health and safety of Canadians. Other initiatives that will become a framework for addressing public health issues include the establishment of a new Canadian Public Health Agency of Canada and the Health Protection Legislation Renewal exercise.

Q. Why is it important to move ahead separately with new quarantine legislation, when it has always been part of the Health Protection Legislation Renewal exercise?

A. Events such as SARS, avian influenza and West Nile virus have highlighted the need for more immediate action than is allowed by the Legislation Renewal time frames. The Legislative Renewal exercise is expected to be completed sometime in 2005.

After the SARS outbreak, it was recognized that the current Quarantine Act needed to be updated on a more urgent basis to allow Canada to enact measures necessary to address similar outbreaks in the future.

Q. How does the updated Act complement existing provincial/territorial public health legislation?

A. The scope of the proposed Quarantine Act is limited to ensuring that communicable diseases are prevented from entering Canada or being spread to other countries. As such, the Act operates at Canadian international borders and therefore does not conflict with, but is complementary to, provincial/territorial public health Acts.

Q. How have the provinces and territories been consulted on this proposal?

A. Provincial officials have been engaged in discussions relating to quarantine through the Legislative Renewal exercise. This fall, the proposed bill was reviewed by the Chief Medical Officers of Health for each province and their legal officials, as well as the Medical Officers of Health whose jurisdiction includes major ports of entry and their legal officials.

In addition, provincial and territorial Ministers of Health have received a copy of the proposed legislation, and will continue to have an opportunity to participate in the consultations that will result from the draft legislation being introduced in Parliament.

Q. Will industry incur any additional costs as a result of the updates to the Act?

A. There will be either minimal or no costs to carriers and port authorities. In the event of a public health emergency, there be may additional costs incurred by everyone but that is the shared cost of ensuring that the health and safety of Canadians is protected.

Q. Is the proposed new legislation consistent with obligations under the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Health Regulations?

A. Canada is signatory to the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations whose purpose is to ensure the maximum security against the international spread of diseases with a minimum interference with world traffic.

While the proposed new quarantine legislation is aligned with Canada's obligations under the International Health Regulations, the regulations are currently being revised by the WHO. The Government of Canada will review its quarantine legislation once the WHO's regulations are revised, to ensure they continue to be complementary.

-30-