ArriveCAN False Quarantine Class Action Lawsuit Canada

ACTIS LAW GROUP is lead counsel in the Canadian class action lawsuit that was filed in Federal Court against the Attorney General of Canada. The action alleges that the Government of Canada was negligent in the contracting, design, development, testing, updating, maintenance, implementation, monitoring, oversight and deployment of the ArriveCAN application. It is alleged that this negligent conduct resulted in at least 10,200 travellers being subjected to an unlawful quarantine upon arrival at a port of entry due to ongoing glitches with the ArriveCAN app.

Proposed Class

The Plaintiffs seek to represent the following class to which they belong:

“All persons that travelled to Canada between November 21, 2020 and October 1, 2022 and either used or attempted to use the ArriveCAN application and that were wrongly instructed to isolate themselves and monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 despite being otherwise quarantine exempt where they submitted or attempted to submit the required documentation to the Canada Border Services Agency.”

Background

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Following this declaration, the Government of Canada implemented various travel requirements for persons entering Canada.

On April 29, 2020, the Canada Border Services Agency launched the digital application ArriveCAN – available via web, iOS, and Android platforms, to collect contact and health information from people entering Canada.

On November 21, 2020, the use of ArriveCAN became mandatory for travellers entering Canada.

Following the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Government of Canada relaxed certain of its COVID-19 travel requirements for “fully-vaccinated” travellers. These travellers were largely exempt from quarantine requirements imposed by the Orders-in-Council at the time, but remained subject to the following mandatory travel requirements:

(a) A pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test requirement;

(b) A post-arrival COVID-19 molecular test, performed at the time of entry, if randomly selected; and

(c) Mandatory use of ArriveCAN, including: uploading proof of vaccination prior to arrival in Canada; meeting the pre-entry testing requirements; being asymptomatic upon arrival; and providing proof of vaccination (papaer or digital) in English or French (or a certified translation) upon request.

Deficiencies in ArriveCAN

The ArriveCAN app had various significant and ongoing issues, including from June 28 to July 20, 2022, approximately 10,200 Apple device users received erroneous quarantine instructions directly from ArriveCAN (via application notifications) and from automated emails generated by ArriveCAN.

These incorrect directives resulted in compliant, fully vaccinated travellers being wrongly subjected to quarantine requirements.

Findings of the Auditor General

The 2024 Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada identified serious deficiencies in the management of the ArriveCAN application, including:

(a) Repeated failures by the Canada Border Services Agency, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Services and Procurement Canada to follow sound management practices in contracting, development, and implementation;
(b) A finding that “practices to manage ArriveCAN were missing at the most basic levels,” undermining project design, implementation, oversight, and accountability;
(c) Deficiencies in managing contractor qualifications, resulting in the use of personnel with inadequate IT experience;
(d) A lack of clear deliverables and task descriptions in contracts; and
(e) Significant deficiencies in application testing, including poor documentation of testing processes..

The Auditor General ultimately concluded that there was a clear disregard for basic management and contracting practices in relation to the ArriveCAN application.

Findings of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada conducted an investigation into the ArriveCAN app, with particular attention to the accuracy of personal information used in decision-making.

The investigation found that the Canada Border Services Agency failed to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information processed through ArriveCAN was accurate, complete, and up to date, as required under the Privacy Act.

End of Mandatory Use

The ArriveCAN app ceased being mandatory as of October 1, 2022.

If you or someone you know has been affected by the defective ArriveCAN app and would like more information about potential compensation or to be kept informed of the status of the Class Action lawsuit or any resulting compensation resulting from the class action Lawsuit, please provide your contact information to our law firm using the form below.