Public health

Pathology

Disease

Imperfect

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

International human rights law

Pandemic

Nursing

Philosophy

Human rights

Political science

Public relations

Linguistics

Public administration

Medicine

Can J Public Health

Faced with the extraordinary global public health crisis of COVID-19, governments across Canada must decide, often with limited and imperfect evidence, how to implement measures to reduce its spread. Drawing on a health and human rights framework, this commentary explores several features of the Canadian response to date that raise human rights concerns. Our discussion focuses on criminal law, fines, data collection, and so-called snitch lines. We argue that the approach of governmental and public health authorities must be grounded in the best available scientific evidence and align with human rights standards. Our aim is to encourage dialogue within the public health community in Canada about the importance of human rights-based responses to COVID-19.

Human rights, public health and COVID-19 in Canada