Jacob Malcer of Quebec received a ticket in August 2023 for an apparent violation of the Quarantine Act from 16 months prior, in May 2022.
Malcer, a Polish immigrant, travelled to his home country to attend his mother’s funeral that May. Upon his return he was faced with post-travel quarantine requirements.Rules at the time required a negative test for entry, followed by 14 days of quarantine.

While dealing with unbearable grief and thoughts of suicide, on day nine of his at-home quarantine, Malcer felt the need to clear his thoughts and opted to go for a short drive. He knew he was negative for covid and believed that isolating in his vehicle would still meet the standards required, until he was pulled over by police and instructed to return home.
No ticket was issued at the time of this stop.

Fast-forward to August 2023. Malcer received a letter from the government of Quebec accusing him of having violated the Quarantine Act. He was given a $5,000 fine in addition to $1,250 in “costs.”

Obviously distraught, not believing he had done anything wrong, Malcer followed instructions to plead not guilty and have his day in court. Despite this, he still receives continuous reminders to pay the fines.
“My crime was to drive alone in a car, knowing I’m negative [for Covid-19] when I was suicidal and I did not think I was doing anything wrong.”
Malcer also believes he has little hope of winning, unable to secure legal representation for his case.
“I feel really powerless against the system.”
“If we got to the point where we punish people for attending someone’s funeral – because that’s actually what happened – then something is terribly, terribly wrong.”

One key question regarding the extensive delay if the evidence was present from his first encounter with the officer, why then did it take 16 months to inform him of these charges? Although it’s possible to lay a charge months after an incident, why wait so long?
And, what are the added ‘costs’ for?