WATCH: Michelle Rempel asks for evidence that hotel quarantines are better than home quarantines

"Can anyone at PHAC table data that shows that quarantining at a hotel is better from a public health perspective than quarantining at somebody's house?" Rempel asked.

After being told that her question will be discussed with PHAC before offering a reply, Rempel noted that the cost of hotel quarantining would cost a quarter of a billion dollars and asked what data was used to inform the decision.

She received no response.

Under new federal guidelines implemented to curb the spread of coronavirus, air travelers to Canada are forced to quarantine in hotels for three days upon arrival before they can go to a house to quarantine. Most new arrivals are forced to pay for their own hotel quarantine, but refugees have their expenses paid for by the government.

The measure has been criticized by civil libertarians, who have compared it to arbitrary detention as those who are forced to quarantine in hotels are not being subject to criminal punishment.