Canada’s Quebec, Ontario propose stricter masks, quarantines enforcement
Toronto police officers stop at a red light as they patrol on their service horses in Toronto on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Health officials and the government has asks that people stay inside to help curb the spread of the coronavirus also known as COVID-19. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
OTTAWA, Canada – Canada’s two most populous provinces, seeing an uptick in new Covid-19 cases, vowed Thursday to crack down, with Quebec announcing fines for not wearing masks indoors and Ontario’s premier calling for stepped up enforcement of mandatory quarantines.
“We cannot accept that a few irresponsible individuals are putting our entire society at risk. So I think it’s time to crack down,” Quebec Premier Francois Legault told a news conference.
Wearing a mask has been compulsory since mid-July in all enclosed public places in Quebec, including shops, restaurants, bars, theaters and public transport. Children under 12 and people with health problems are exempt.
Until now, store owners were responsible for enforcement.
The new fines targeting individuals will start being issued as of Saturday. The amounts are yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Ontario, Premier Doug Ford called on Ottawa to step up policing of travelers returning from abroad and ignoring a compulsory 14-day quarantine upon entering the country.
Breaching federal quarantine orders can lead to charges with penalties of up to six months in jail and fines of Can$750,000 (US$570,000), or police can issue tickets of up to Can$1,000.
Between March 25 and September 3, police were called to verify the whereabouts of 87,338 people who had been ordered to isolate at home, according to Public Health Agency of Canada data cited by local media.
But only 17 people have been fined in Ontario, according to Doug Ford, who complained that most offenders get “a slap on the wrist” rather than a ticket.
Canada has recorded more than 134,000 cases of coronavirus as of Thursday, including 9,199 deaths.
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