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At least two Southwestern Ontario police departments have incorrectly used a provincial emergency measure to charge people for not self-isolating after travelling abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, an error critics say raises civil-rights red flags.

Since March 29, the federal Quarantine Act has required returning travelers to immediately self-isolate for 14 days. There is no such requirement under Ontario’s Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), but the latter was used by Aylmer and Sarnia police to charge individuals.

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London lawyer Nick Cake, who first sounded the alarm on the misuse of the Ontario emergency act in a blog post, blames the mistake on the unprecedented situation gripping the country.

“These are times that none of us have ever dealt with,” Cake said.

“It’s confusing times for everybody involved, but sometimes the police make mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes have potentially severe consequences for the person who is the subject of the mistake.”