Alberta man fined $1,725 after speeding past border checkstop

An Alberta resident received a ticket worth $1,725 on Wednesday after driving past the NWT’s Highway 1 pandemic checkstop at high speed, the NWT government said.

Public health officers at the border called police, who subsequently pulled over the vehicle. RCMP say the driver was in a stolen car and in possession of cannabis, and has been arrested and charged.

The driver, said to be a 25-year-old from Edmonton, was not publicly identified. RCMP said the car was impounded. The territorial government said police then escorted him back out of the territory, to High Level, at his request.

He has court dates in the NWT in August and September, police said.

While there has been confusion this week over the NWT’s travel restrictions, the basic requirement to stop at checkpoints has not changed.

Public health officers – who are NWT government staff, not police officers – greet all traffic entering the NWT at the Highway 1 checkpoint on the Alberta border.

The 25-year-old “drove past at high speed and continued travelling toward Hay River without any plan to self-isolate,” the NWT government said in a statement on Thursday.

“RCMP safely pulled the individual over after they did not stop for the peace officers at the checkpoint. The compliance and enforcement task force was contacted and issued a summary offence ticket.

“The individual was given a ticket for $1,500 with a $225 victim’s surcharge, totalling $1,725.”

Police said the man was pulled over south of Enterprise and found to be “operating the vehicle in violation of numerous NWT Highway Traffic Act laws.”

RCMP added: “Further investigation determined the vehicle was stolen from Edmonton and the man was in contravention of cannabis possession laws.”