Anti-mask protesters, police clash in Calgary
In Montreal, $400K in fines issued after demo
Calgary police and anti-mask protesters clashed outside of city hall over the weekend as officers handed out tickets and made arrests.
The protests, organized by the Walk for Freedom group, took place Saturday and Sunday afternoon, each with between 200 and 250 attendees who defied provincial health orders. Current COVID-19 public-health orders prohibit all indoor and outdoor social gatherings of any size with people outside of the same household.
The police crackdown came as Alberta reported another 1,352 infections on Saturday and 1,286 on Sunday. An additional 26 deaths were reported Saturday, and 10 on Sunday.
Such rallies have been a weekly occurrence for people protesting the public health orders, including mandatory masks. Tickets have been given to protesters at previous rallies, however, Saturday’s event seemed to have garnered the greatest enforcement from police thus far.
On Saturday, police began ticketing some protesters as soon as crowds started to form. Later in the event, clashes broke out, as police detained multiple protesters, some of whom fought back against officers. Sunday’s protest was largely peaceful.
Though Calgary police told Postmedia they would release information on the protests Sunday afternoon, the service later declined to provide details on how many tickets were issued or how many arrests were made at the protest.
Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld was present at Sunday’s protest. A few of the protesters approached the chief to chat but Neufeld mostly observed the rally alongside officers.
In a statement last week, the City of Calgary said more than 65 tickets have been issued to Calgarians for flouting public health orders since August — with a third of those tickets being issued since Dec. 9. That number will certainly climb when police provide an update on tickets given out over the weekend.
“The City of Calgary will continue to investigate and actively enforce at planned events and protests that create the greatest risk to the public in violation of the (Public Health Act),” the statement from the city said.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has been outspoken against anti-mask protests, saying Friday he thinks they’re beginning to flag as rally sizes have declined.
“There are folks who are incorrigible, and you’ve heard me say this before — they’re doing this because they get a thrill out of doing it,” Nenshi said. “They’re not going to change anybody’s mind. It’s a waste of time and you run the risk of getting a ticket.”
University of Alberta associate law professor Ubaka Ogbogu posted to Twitter on Sunday: “There’s no version of civil-rights activism that includes demanding that your community respect your right to put your community in danger.”
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw urged people on Twitter to adhere to the current restrictions entering the week of Christmas.
“Please take restrictions seriously. And if you do go out, follow public health guidance: wash your hands, wear a mask and practice physical distancing. Most importantly, stay home if you feel even slightly sick and please book a test,” Hinshaw wrote.
“Additional restrictions may mean longer lines at grocery stores or other retail locations. Please remember to be patient; the holiday season is always busy and stressful and this year, more than ever, we need to show kindness to others.”
Meanwhile, in Montreal, Police say they issued more than $ 400,000 worth of tickets to anti-lockdown protesters during a demonstration outside the Quebec premier’s office on Sunday.
Const. Julien Lévesque says police handed out 269 fines of $1,546 each to protesters who had allegedly broken public health rules including by not wearing a mask.
Protesters gathered at the downtown Montreal office of Premier François Legault before marching toward an east-end park.
Meanwhile, Quebec is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine distribution network with the opening of new clinics across the province. A long-term care home in Montreal’s east end said it received its first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Monday and will begin vaccinating residents.
Quebec said last week 21 new vaccination sites would be operational today but it’s unclear how many of them have received vaccines. The province opened two sites last week, at long-term care homes in Montreal and Quebec City.
Health authorities reported 2,108 new infections Monday and 30 more deaths linked to the novel coronavirus, two of which occurred in the past 24 hours.
The number of hospitalizations increased by 38, to 1,048, and the number of intensive care patients remained unchanged at 146.
Quebec says it administered 115 doses of COVID-19 vaccine Sunday for a total of 4,831 vaccinations since the campaign began last week.
Health Minister Christian Dubé wrote on Twitter Monday, “Several sites in the different regions will receive their vaccines and will be able to start vaccination in the coming days.”
“This is great news, but we must continue to adhere to the measures if we are to stop the increase in cases.”
Quebec reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 infections over the weekend, including a record 2,146 on Sunday. More than a thousand people are in hospital with the disease.
The province has closed schools ahead of the winter break and won’t reopen them before Jan. 11 to reduce COVID-19 transmission. Legault has also ordered all businesses his government deems non-essential to close Dec. 25 until at least Jan. 11.
THEY'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE THEY GET A THRILL OUT OF ... IT.