A B.C.-based lawyer says there is a reason why the provincial government isn’t putting in road checks at the Alberta border crossings.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Acumen Law’s Kyla Lee says under the Constitution, the provincial government can only make laws that apply to British Columbia.

“So if you are in Alberta and want to come in to British Columbia, we can’t stop you from coming in. Unless Alberta says that you can’t go to B.C. as well,” Lee says.

“There has to essentially be a mutual agreement between the two provinces in order to close the border. That’s what we see between Ontario and Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. With the Atlantic bubble there was a mutual agreement.”

New signs have gone up at the Alberta border to discourage people from coming to B.C. for non-essential travel. But there’s no mutual agreement between the provinces to close the borders, and Lee says she doubts a formal agreement on that will happen.

“I can guarantee you that there likely won’t be one, because of the number of workers and travel between the two provinces in the oil industry,” she says.

The new restrictions are meant to limit the spread of more-contagious variants of COVID-19.

More than a week after announcing plans to bring in road checks, the B.C. government still has not explained how enforcement will work, but Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says details are to be expected sometime this week.

Under the new restrictions, Vancouver Island residents are being asked to stay on the Island, Lower Mainland residents are asked not to go to the Island or the Interior, and people in Interior Health and Northern Health are asked not to head to the coast. Between now and May 25, anyone found travelling between those zones for non-essential reasons could face a $575 fine.