A 25-year-old man from Edmonton faces charges related to cannabis possession, possessing a stolen vehicle and health violations after speeding past the checkpoint at the NWT border on Wednesday.
The individual "drove past at high speed and continued traveling towards Hay River without any plan to self-isolate," said the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) on Thursday afternoon.
Border officers contacted the Department of Infrastructure Highway Transport Officers and the RCMP who pulled over the man south of Enterprise. He was later issued a summary offence ticket by the Compliance and Enforcement Taskforce.
He was given a ticket for $1,500 with a $225 victim’s surcharge totaling $1,725. The ticket was issued under the authority of section 49(1) of the Public Health Act for "failure to comply with orders or directions restricting or prohibiting travel to or from any area within the NWT during a public health emergency referred to in paragraph 33(1)(d)" of that Act.
RCMP discovered that the man was driving an unregistered, uninsured vehicle, which police deemed to be stolen and was later impounded, the NT RCMP said in a separate news release.
"Further investigation determined the vehicle was stolen from Edmonton and the man was in contravention of cannabis possession laws," police said.
He was arrested and charged under the Criminal Code, Highway Traffic Act and Territorial Cannabis Products Act.
The man is scheduled for NWT court appearances in August and September of 2020.