Editor:
The Premier’s decision not to close B.C.’s border to inter-provincial travel is in error. Canada is a confederation not a republic and the difference is quite significant.
A confederation is essentially a number of nation states (provinces) bound together under a common federal alliance. All provinces agree to and operate under a precise rule of federal and provincial laws and regulations. One of these laws is provincial access which under specific circumstances is a provincial right.
Canadian inter-provincial trade is controlled as a federal jurisdiction, however, application and access is a provincial right as all provinces have the right to control their borders.
For example federal law permits all Canadians to buy and have shipped to them alcohol products from any province in Canada, however, any province can prevent this by imposing their own restrictions on such practices and that’s it folks, federally approved law restricted under provincial authority.
Premier Horgan should read up on provincial autonomy, however, this writer thinks he knows very well what he can do but has chosen to make this a political decision, not a legal one.
The Maritime provinces had no issues in closing their borders and no legal ramifications came back at them and thus they kept her COVID-19 cases extremely low, B.C. can do the same, but our premier would rather play politics then protect the citizens of this province.
Barrie McDonald
