A North Vancouver man heading over the Malahat was issued a ticket for non-essential travel under the Emergency Program Act and told to return immediately to the Lower Mainland.
Cpl. Mike Halskov said the driver was pulled over for speeding and other offences on May 1 by an RCMP traffic officer.
The officer asked the driver why he was travelling.
“[The officer] said: ‘That doesn’t meet the bar. Here’s your ticket,’ and directed him to get back on the ferry and go back to the Lower Mainland,” said Halskov.
British Columbians are currently barred from travelling between three health regions for non-essential reasons. The three regions include the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley (Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health areas), Vancouver Island (Island Health) and the Northern and Interior regions (Northern Health and Interior Health).
At the discretion of police, those not following the travel restrictions can be subject to a $575 fine.
Halskov believes it’s likely the driver will dispute one of the tickets he received.
