Canada's top court rules N.L. pandemic travel restrictions were constitutional

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Covid-19 travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020 were "reasonably justified" as infection numbers soared, lives were lost and little was known about the virus.

In a majority decision released Friday morning, the court acknowledged the restrictions did violate mobility rights under Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but that the violation was justified under Section 1 of the Charter.

The ruling is vindication for the province's tough response to the pandemic, which included a temporary order to restrict entry into the province by non-residents, except under exceptional circumstances.

"These unprecedented circumstances, factoring in the capacity of their healthcare system and high volume of vulnerable populations, entitled Newfoundland and Labrador to act as it did," the ruling states.

"The travel restrictions amounted to a limitation of freedoms, and governments must exercise significant caution when engaging in such restrictions. However, Newfoundland and Labrador’s travel restrictions were a reasonable and justified measure in a free and democratic country in the COVID-19 pandemic."

The case was launched by Kim Taylor of Nova Scotia and backed by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. They claimed the province's travel ban was unconstitutional.

Taylor was barred from travelling home to attend her mother's funeral.

"People who are grieving the loss of a loved one, such as a mother, father, sister, brother, a child, should not be subjected to this level of cruelty by a government entity," Taylor told CBC News in May 2020.

The top court's ruling is in line with the original ruling of the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeal refused to hear the matter because the travel restrictions had been lifted, and did not rule on whether there was a charter infringement.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the matter, with a panel of nine judges hearing the appeal in April 2025.

Section 6 of the Charter states that Canadians have the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada. It also states that Canadians can move and take up residence in any province.

The judges agreed that all or some of the subsections of Section 6 were violated by the province's travel ban.

But the actions of the government were saved by Section 1 of the Charter, which outlines the criteria under which rights and freedoms can be limited.