Dozens of fines issued on first night of curfew
Police departments across Quebec issued dozens of $1,550 fines as the province's curfew, which aims to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, went into effect Saturday night.
In Montreal, the provisional count was 84 infractions, the police department tweeted early Sunday afternoon. Most notably, 17 people were ticketed for protesting near the Mont-royal métro station, said police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.
The Montreal police department also indicated that its officers conducted multiple interventions with homeless people during the night, though no fines are being issued in those situations.
In Quebec City, about 20 people protesting in front of the Musée de la civilization were fined. Some of them were detained after refusing to identify themselves, said Quebec City police spokesperson Étienne Doyon.
In Sherbrooke, the police department confirmed that a dozen people participating in a protest against public health measures were also ticketed.
The cost of an infraction, $1,546 in 2020, has increased slightly to $1,550: $1,000 for the fine itself and $550 in administrative fees.
For its part, the Sûreté du Québec confirmed that fines were issued during curfew protests on its territory. Spokesperson Marie-michèle Moore said a breakdown of the infractions will be made public during the week.
During the evening and overnight, the SQ intervened in about 20 locations in different municipalities in connection with non-respect of the curfew, said a statement on Sunday from the SQ, and more than 150 tickets were given.
“Despite a few incidents, we observed an excellent collaboration from the population in respecting the curfew,” the SQ tweeted. “We will maintain an increased presence in order to enforce the rules.”
In Longueuil, no tickets were issued despite a protest having been announced on Facebook and a number of people indicating they would attend.
“We showed up and nobody was there,” said Jean-christophe Fortin of Longueuil police. “The $1,500 fine deterred many people.”
Vehicles from the Châteauguay police department circulated to ensure the new rules were being followed in Châteauguay, Beauharnois, Léry and St-isidore. As of midnight, they had intervened with 143 vehicles and 161 drivers and passengers — but issued only six fines.
Despite a fair amount of vehicle traffic on the main roads of the 68,000-person territory, police spokesperson Jenny Lavigne said “most vehicles intercepted and citizens stopped had a valid reason to be out that was present on the list of exceptions.”
In general, streets were calm throughout Quebec. Images from Transports Québec's cameras showed highways that were strikingly empty compared to the way they normally look.