'It's very frustrating': Barrie couple faces $12K in fines under expiring travel rule
After months of missionary work in Jamaica, Thelma and Glen Perry of Barrie say they were welcomed back at Toronto's Pearson airport with a pricey surprise.
The fully vaccinated couple, who are in their 80s, were handed more than $12,000 in fines for not complying with the quarantine act.
"It's a feeling that comes over you that you can't explain," said Glen Perry.
The Perrys' flight arrived a little earlier than the 10:30 p.m. expected arrival on July 4.
The couple says they thought it would take them until after midnight to get through customs, which is when the rules around government-ordered hotel stay for travelling Canadians were set to expire.
Instead, the couple says they were fined just before 10:00 p.m., despite asking if they could wait in the airport until midnight.
CTV News reached out to the Canadian Border Services, who say, "travellers who arrived before 12:01 a.m. on July 5 were not eligible for the reduced public health measures."
Their only option was to stay at a government-approved hotel for three days and quarantine for two weeks.
"It's very frustrating, I'm very stressed out, and I'm very disappointed in Canada," Thelma said.
Local MP John Brassard is now trying to help the couple.
"I contacted both ministers Hajdu and Blair by email asking for some reasonableness and some compassion in this situation," Brassard said. "I haven't heard anything at this point."
As for the Perrys, they hope that something can be done soon, as they can't afford the ticket.
"We are at a crossroads, and I don't know what comes next," Thelma said.
According to the back of their tickets, they have three options: either pay the ticket, meet with a prosecutor to find a resolution, or fight the tickets in court.
Right now, the Perrys say the last option might be their only choice.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.