A 19-year-old Toronto man is in custody after trying to move to the province on Thursday and being stopped at the Moncton airport.

Daniel Arefi, who lost his job as a barber because of COVID-19, was persuaded to move to the province by his parents, who live in Moncton.

Hossein Arefi said he had rented an apartment for his son to self-isolate in and hoped he would start a business after that.

But when Daniel arrived at the Moncton airport on Thursday, he was asked the purpose of his visit and answered that he was visiting his parents.
This was deemed an insufficient reason for entering New Brunswick, which, with some exceptions, is not letting anyone in who doesn't live in the province.

People who don't meet the provincial guidelines have to go back, at their own expense. Another passenger who was Daniel flight was also ordered back to Toronto.

A misunderstanding

But Hossein Arefi said his son's answer about the purpose of his visit was a misunderstanding, since Daniel plans to live in New Brunswick.

"He replied I'm visiting my parents," the father told Information Morning Moncton on Friday.
"Because he used the word 'I'm visiting' they considered him as a visitor. And they said that it will be considered as an unnecessary traveller."

Hossein Arefi said he had documentation showing that an apartment had been rented so Daniel could self-isolate for 14 days, a requirement for anyone entering the province.

Daniel was told to go to a hotel for three nights, at his own expense, and wait for the next available flight to Toronto, which is Sunday.

Daniel refused and was handcuffed and detained.

Arefi said it should have been clear that his son was planning on moving to the province.

"He came with a one-way ticket and three bags filled with his stuff … to come and live in Moncton," Arefi said.

Mike Comeau, the deputy minister of public safety, said he could not go into specifics about the case because of privacy concerns.

He did say that people who are moving to New Brunswick from other provinces are being allowed in, but that people have also said different things once told they can't enter.

"I can tell you that when people are turned away, it does happen from time to time that they assert a different purpose," said Comeau.

"So sometimes people say that they're coming to visit somebody and then when they find out that that's not going to be permitted, the story changes and they say that they have some other purpose."

Arefi said Daniel is to appear in court in Moncton on Friday.