B.C. anti-masker charged with violating quarantine act after trip to U.S.

A prominent B.C. anti-masker has been charged with violating quarantine laws.

Mak Parhar is accused of not observing a 14-day self-isolation period upon his return to Canada from a trip to the U.S.

On a video posted to his Facebook page, Parhar said he attended a flat earth conference in South Carolina.

New Westminster police said Thursday that they began investigating on Oct. 28, reminding Parhar of federal legislation around international travel and handing him a violation ticket. He refused to comply and continued to leave his home, police said.

Late Monday night, police arrested the 47-year-old for repeated violations under the Quarantine Act and charged him with three counts of failing to self-isolate for 14 days upon returning to Canada.

Parhar is being held in custody, New Westminster police said.

He is due to appear in a New Westminster court on Nov. 16.

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In March, Parhar had his Delta hot yoga studio licence pulled for violating social distancing rules.

He later faced an investigation after posting a series of videos where he entered health-care facilities to get the “truth” about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in April that the case had been referred to police, and that the videos showed someone putting health-care workers and patients at risk.

“This is just absolutely appalling and completely unacceptable, this individual is just a complete idiot,” he said.

— With files from Simon Little