Toronto Police Are Coming For Your Backyard Parties This Weekend
It seems that some Ontarians just want to keep the party going. The City of Brampton and Toronto revealed this week that they have been battling multiple GTA backyard parties as the warm weather approaches. Since then, multiple tickets have been handed out in an attempt to stop these bashes.
Mayor Patrick Brown announced on June 3 that the city of Brampton had recently laid 27 charges related to physical distancing.
19 of those charges were related to parties in people's backyards.
On top of that, two charges were related to the illegal use of park equipment, and nine charges were linked to games of cricket.
Brown also noted on Wednesday that while the vast majority of residents were respecting the city's new COVID-19 health and safety regulations, others have forced officers to crackdown on social gatherings.
"Please understand this is not the time for social gatherings. This is not the time for team sports. We must listen to the advice of public health. I continue to be alarmed by the fact that when you look at the number of positive cases, we have a high number of young people from the ages 20-29 testing positive," Brown said during a press conference.
However, it seems that it is not just Brampton that is dealing with this problem.
According to the Canada Press via City News, the City of Toronto revealed that they had received over 5,100 complaints related to large gatherings on private properties since the beginning of the lockdown.
468 of those complaints pertained specifically to backyard events.
However, these gatherings aren't the only ones that are raising concern in the GTA.
Brampton has also announced that parking lot parties are also being reported across the city.
With multiple fines being handed out, the mayor stresses that "Just because you can’t hold a party at your home doesn’t mean you can hold a party in a parking lot.”
Parks across the GTA have also been filled with people as the warm weather starts to hit the province.
Last month, thousands gathered to Trinity Bellwoods Park where social distancing rules were ignored.