Walmart, Costco & Shoppers Drug Mart Stores Near Toronto Fined For Breaking COVID-19 Rules

The fines amounted to nearly $10,000 in total.
Contributor

Just as Doug Ford promised, Ontario's COVID-19 enforcement blitz is going full steam ahead.

In just the past week, several stores in York Region were given fines under the Reopening Ontario Act for violating guidelines.

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$880 Fine for non-compliance under The Act

In total, five Walmarts, five Shoppers Drug Marts, and one Costco received $880 dollar fines, says York Public Health. The total amounted to $9,680.

Other retailers that landed fines include Sobeys, FreshCo, No Frills, and Food Basics.

The fines are issued for a number of reasons, such as the lack of disinfecting and capacity control measures, as well as improper mask usage by employees.

In tandem with the inspection blitz, Ontario implemented a stay-at-home order that prohibits all non-essential trips out of the house.

During this time, essential retailers that primarily sell food must ensure that shoppers are able to maintain two metres of physical distance, that everyone on the premises is wearing a mask and that frequent sanitation is kept up.

Last weekend, several big box stores were fined and 110 stores were inspected during the provincewide blitz.

  • Abby Neufeld was a writer at Narcity Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Professional Communications at the University of Victoria. Her past work has been published in The Toronto Star, Bitch Media, Canadian Dimension, This Magazine, and more. In 2019, Abby co-founded The New Twenties, an environmentally-focused literary and arts magazine.

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