Bridge checkpoints remain even as Quebec lifts travel restrictions

No date set for easing of constraints on travel to and from Gatineau

Sporadic police checkpoints on the five bridges between Ottawa and Gatineau will remain in place even as Quebec announces the lifting of travel restrictions across much of the province.

The Quebec government has set no date to lift the constraints on what it deems non-essential travel between the neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region.

“We can’t give you a date today because we are still evaluating the situation,” Quebec Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault told reporters Wednesday.

The police stops on the bridges have been in place for the past month, along with roadside checkpoints throughout the Outaouais to deter non-essential travel between regions.

The travel restrictions were adopted pursuant to a provincial directive, issued March 29, designed to encourage people to stay at home and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Quebec is now moving more quickly than any other province to reopen schools and businesses. Quebec Premier François Legault has announced that most stores will be allowed to reopen May 4; construction and manufacturing will be allowed to restart May 11, along with elementary schools and daycares.

Most travel restrictions will also be lifted by May 11.

On Wednesday in Quebec City, Guilbault told reporters the province will reopen access to the cottage country north of Montreal next Monday. More northerly regions, including the Saguenay, will reopen May 11 while other areas, such as Gaspé, will reopen May 18.

Roadblocks in the Outaouais will be removed May 11. However, police checkpoints on the bridges that link Ottawa and Gatineau will continue until further notice, she said, as will travel restrictions to northern communities

Guilbault said people should not travel to the newly reopened areas unless it’s necessary, and she warned that the government will quickly lock down areas again if COVID-19 infections rise.

Gatineau police maintain random checkpoints on the Alexandra Bridge, Portage Bridge, Chaudière Bridge, Champlain Bridge and Masson-Angers Ferry, while the Sûreté du Québec manages the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge.

The police often stop more than 8,000 vehicles a day on the bridges and turn back between two and eight per cent of drivers. In West Quebec, police said, the rejection rates at checkpoints near cottage country have been as high as 12 per cent on some days.

Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin did not respond to email messages Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told reporters that he

We thought it would not be a good use of scarce police resources to have police officers covering five bridges for hours at a time.

has no intention of replicating the checkpoints once Quebec reopens its economy.

“We thought it would not be a good use of scarce police resources to have police officers covering five bridges for hours at a time,” he said. “I know it has been an inconvenience for some people.”

With a file from The Canadian Press.