Coronavirus And Criminal Law: What You Need To Know

We are unquestionably facing uncertain times. Outside of Canada, sweeping government-ordered lockdowns, shut downs, travel restrictions and bans on gatherings and human-to-human contact have quickly become part of the global response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. This is happening even in modern liberal democracies, with guaranteed rights and freedoms similar to ours.

Some countries, including South Korea, have gone further and sought to criminally prosecute individuals deemed responsible for spreading the virus. While large-scale restrictions on human movement and interaction in Canada were perhaps unthinkable just weeks ago, as was the criminalization of spreading disease, a question being asked with increasing frequency is: could it happen here?