Almost All Of The COVID-19 Fines In Canada Were Issued In Just 3 Provinces

There's a lot of people caught breaking the rules. COVID-19 fines in Canada have been given out more than 10,000 times and they all add up to tens of millions of dollars. Almost all of the fines that have been issued across the country have come from just three provinces.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) put out a report about the use of fines and law enforcement in Canada to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the report, 98% of the virus-related fines in the country were issued in three just provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Quebec has accounted for 77% of fines in the national total with 6,600 being issued.

The province is followed by Ontario with 2853 charges or 18%.

Nova Scotia makes up 3% of the national total with 555 charges.

The CCLA used publicly available data to estimate that from April 1 to June 15, more than 10,000 tickets were issued or charged laid related to COVID-19.

That has led to over $13 million in fines.

People got in touch with the association to share their stories of being stopped and ticketed.

According to the report, many said that they were fined for minor violations like sitting on a park bench for a couple of minutes or being on a soccer field.

Compared to those three provinces, the number of fines given out in other places seems minuscule.

There have been 129 in Alberta, 44 in Saskatchewan, 30 in Manitoba and 22 in B.C.

The other provinces and territories have less than five people facing fines or charges that are COVID-19 related.

The CCLA said that "trying to police our way out of this pandemic is unimaginative, sometimes unconstitutional, and
ineffective."

The report estimated that there has been $10,085,598 in fines given out in Quebec, $2,424,710 in Ontario and $424,429 in Nova Scotia.

That figure drops to $114,600 in Alberta and $100,000 in Saskatchewan.

Other provinces and territories have given out less than $25,000 in fines.

It's no secret that people have been getting hefty fines during the pandemic.

An Ontario family got handed an $880 ticket for rollerblading in an empty parking lot.

Other provinces had introduced fines for not self-isolating after travelling and warnings had been given out to people crowding beaches.