OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the constitutionality of a pandemic-related restriction that curbed travel for public health reasons.

A 2020 order from Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer limited the circumstances in which non-residents could enter the province due to COVID-19.

Nova Scotia resident Kimberley Taylor went to court after being denied an exemption to attend her mother’s funeral in Newfoundland.

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland ruled the legislation giving rise to the order was within the competence of the province as a valid public health measure.

The court also found the order violated Taylor’s constitutional right to travel anywhere in Canada, but that the circumstances of the pandemic justified the infringement under the Charter of Rights.

In its ruling today, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada agreed that although the travel restrictions limited constitutional mobility rights, this was a reasonable and justified measure in a free and democratic country during the pandemic.

More to come.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press