American Faces $750,000 Fine For Breaking Quarantine Rules In Canada

A Kentucky man faces a fine of as much as $750,000 — or six months in jail — for allegedly violating a quarantine order in the Canadian Rockies.

John Pennington, 40, of Walton, Kentucky, received a $1,200 ticket on June 25 after employees at a hotel in Banff, Calgary, called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to report a U.S. citizen violating the Alberta Public Health Act during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“RCMP attended the hotel and as a result of their investigation, they found a second individual in his presence, a female from Calgary, and found him to be breaching the requirements to quarantine while he traveled through Alberta so he was issued a ticket under the Alberta Public Health Act,” said RCMP Cpl. Tammy Keibel in Calgary, according to the Calgary Herald.

The next day, officers received another complaint about a car with U.S. license plates in a parking lot near the gondola to Sulphur Mountain.

“They located Mr. Pennington up on Sulphur Mountain. As a result of him again allegedly being in violation of the quarantine through his travels, there was some consultation with a quarantine officer in Calgary, and the decision was made to charge Mr. Pennington under the federal Quarantine Act,” Keibel said.

Pennington was arrested and later released. He is facing a court date in November.

Americans are allowed to cross the Canadian border at five different points when traveling to Alaska, but border officials tell drivers to stay on the route, Keibel said.

“The vast majority of Americans and vehicles with American license plates are people who are here for legitimate reasons,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Michael Buxton-Carr told CBC News. “This is the only arrest we have made under the Quarantine Act and the Banff RCMP detachment has only issued one ticket so far.”

“They are barred from driving through national parks, leisure sites, and tourism locations and receive a hang tag for their rear-view mirror indicating the date they must depart Canada,” the CBC reported.

Keibel told the Herald that there have been nine citations given out in Alberta by the end of June, but just the one charge under the Federal Quarantine Act. She also said that Pennington had been given a warning after his initial ticket. “You don’t expect it. You would hope people would follow the direction provided and comply with the laws in place, especially after it was made clear what the expectations are,” she said.

Drivers are allowed a reasonable period to make the journey and are limited to travel within Canada using the most direct route to Alaska.

The Canada Border Services Agency said U.S. residents entering the country must detail their travel plans. “Spokesperson Brissette Lesage said providing false information to officers upon entry is considered misrepresentation and has consequences, including possibly being denied entry or being banned from returning to Canada,” the CBC reported.