In an announcement Monday, Montreal police said they have issued 773 tickets relating to COVID-19 restrictions within the last week. Of those, 396 were a consequence of breaking the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
In combination with the 531 tickets issued by the provincial police force Sûreté du Québec, (SQ) the number of fines for the last week totals 1,304. Of the total number of fines, 732 were issued for breaking curfew.
The SQ said that 80 of the tickets were issued on highways within the greater Montreal area. The fines can be up to $6,000 and first-time offenders can be ticketed $1,500 for being outside their home past 8 p.m.
During the week of January 11, 583 tickets were handed out by Montreal police, with 353 curfew violations making up most of the offences.
Premier Francois Legault implemented the curfew for four weeks and it is set to expire on February 8. Premier Legault said the curfew was necessary in order to limit the chances of “illegal” social gatherings.
Quebec is not alone in its strict enforcement of COVID rules. In December, Manitoba issued 100 tickets, totalling $181,574. In Ontario, the government has ramped up workplace inspections across the province to catch potential violators.
