There will be no inter-provincial travel ban imposed by the B.C. government, Premier John Horgan has confirmed, exactly one week after saying the province will seek legal advice on the feasibility of such a ban.

“The review of our legal options made it clear we can’t prevent people from travelling to British Columbia. We can impose restrictions on people travelling for non-essential purposes if they are causing harm to the health and safety of British Columbians [but] much of current inter-provincial travel is work related and therefore cannot be restricted,” Horgan said, in a statement.

“Public health officials tell us what is most important is for everyone to obey health orders, wherever they are, rather than imposing mobility rules. Therefore, we will not be imposing travel restrictions at this time.”

Horgan says if the province sees COVID-19 transmission as a result of inter-provincial travel, the government will impose stronger restrictions on non-essential travellers.

“We will continue to work with the tourism and hospitality sectors to make sure all possible safety precautions are in place,” he added. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our first and overriding priority has been keeping British Columbians safe.”

“We’ve heard from many people who are worried travel from outside B.C. has contributed to the spread of COVID-19.”

In his statement, Horgan goes on to say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking at further international travel restrictions, adding the province is ready to help out however possible.

“Today, I spoke with my colleagues across Canada at the Council of the Federation and First Ministers’ meetings,” he said. “I asked my colleagues to carry a message back to their citizens: now is not the time for non-essential travel.”

“We ask all British Columbians to stay close to home while vaccines become available. And to all Canadians outside of B.C., we look forward to your visit to our beautiful province when we can welcome you safely.”