A BC Woman Drove To The US To Buy Gas & Landed Herself With A $5700 Fine
She claims that she was the ninth person that morning who was fined.
A woman who drove across the Canada-U.S. border to buy gas was given a $5,700 fine trying to get back into the country.
Marlene Jones said that she crossed the border to the U.S. for fuel, expecting to return to Canada right away under an exemption introduced by the B.C. government, according to Surrey Now-Leader.
The catastrophic weather that hit B.C. last week led to the province entering into a state of emergency, and some people not being able to access essential resources.
Due to flooding and mudslides closing major highways and roads, it was announced that the Canada-U.S. border would allow B.C. residents to go into the U.S. for essential services without taking the required PCR test.
It seems for some though, it hasn't gone as expected.
Jones told the Surrey Now-Leader that she wanted to help conserve the gas for young people who need it to commute after B.C. put a 30-litre limit on gas purchases for drivers.
As a retired senior, she claims she wanted to help out in any way she could.
Jones said that she only went over to the U.S. for 10 minutes, but was given the option of paying the huge fine and entering into quarantine, or getting a PCR test and waiting in the U.S. for results to come in.
She also said that the CBSA did not know what she was talking about when she explained that she was crossing the border due to the impacts of the flooding on the supply chain. She added that the officials told her she was the ninth person that was fined just that morning.
Although the border is changing restrictions altogether on November 30, 2021, until then those who are not travelling under this exemption are required to have a negative molecular test when entering back into Canada.
Narcity has reached out to the Canada Border Services Agency for comment but they have yet to respond.