Ottawa woman in two-week quarantine says she couldn't access ArriveCan app
An Ottawa woman is spending two weeks in quarantine after she says she had trouble accessing the ArriveCan app during a short trip to the United States.
"I viewed this more as being told I'm under house arrest for the next two weeks," said Lorie Rockburn-Dunlop.
What was supposed to be a short shopping trip to Watertown, New York with a friend last week has now become a two-week nightmare for Rockburn-Dunlop.
"We got a notice of non-compliance which tells us that we're under quarantine for 14 days," she said.
Crossing the border in Ogdensburg, Rockburn-Dunlop said she had downloaded the must-have ArriveCan app but couldn't access her account.
"What we said was well when we get to the border we'll explain what happened and maybe they can help," said Rockburn-Dunlop. "I explained to him I knew we needed it and I had downloaded the app but it wasn't sending me an email with my new password. His reply was, 'Well, it's working for others.'"
Since February, the use of the ArriveCan app has been mandatory for all air and land travellers. Last month, the rules changed to allow travellers to re-enter Canada without a negative PCR test for short trips under 72 hours.
However, all travellers must upload their proof of vaccination and travel information into the app.
"It wasn't our fault. We tried all day to try and get onto this app, and then we're called liars," said Rockburn-Dunlop. "There's no recourse for technical issues."
The two-week quarantine is taking a toll. She's a caregiver for her parents, and her 100-year-old dad is recovering from a recent heart attack.
"This means I can't get groceries for two weeks, I can't help them with appointments or things they need to go to. I had to cancel a medical appointment," she said.
She and her friend are both fully vaccinated, but were given two PCR tests at the border and mandated to take them during quarantine. The first test sent off for results already.
"I got my negative results the next morning by email."
Rockburn-Dunlop says she's since received communications by phone and email reminding her of the legal consequences for breaking quarantine.
CTV News Ottawa reached out to the Canadian Border Services Agency for comment, but hadn't heard back at the time of publishing. Last week, the CBSA reminded all returning travellers that they must use the ArriveCan app, regardless of how long or short the trip is.
For now, the Ottawa woman is stuck at home with no answers about what she could have done differently.
"We had the app, it wouldn't work. I feel like the government has let us down."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.