Two passengers who flew from the U.S. to Canada in July submitted fraudulent vaccination cards and negative COVID-19 test results to Canadian authorities and now must each pay fines totaling nearly $16,000 (about $20,000 Canadian) for submitting “false documentation” and failing to comply with quarantine and testing requirements, reports the Washington Post. The case involving the two Canadian citizen travelers is yet another example of airline passengers who have refused to comply with COVID-19 safety requirements as more countries loosen their nonessential travel restrictions.
Submitting false information or documents to Canadian authorities brings a maximum fine of about $601,000 and up to six months in jail. The offense could also lead to prosecution for forgery under the country’s criminal code. In the case of the two travelers who entered Canada from the United States in mid-July, the Canadian health agency issued each passenger four fines totaling about $15,820 for “providing false information related to proof of vaccination credentials and pre-departure tests” and for “non-compliance with the requirement to stay at a government-authorized accommodation and on-arrival testing requirements.” The incidents “are the only instances since July 5 of fraudulent documents detected at the border,” the agency said. Canada reported 907 new cases of the coronavirus on July 30, according to data from Canada’s public health agency. That same day, the United States reported 102,975 new cases.