MONTREAL -- Over the past week, Montreal police have handed out 442 tickets to people disrespecting government guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the total amount of tickets distributed by the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) for COVID-19-related offences stood at 1,006. It now stands at 1,448. This number includes both tickets in the amount of $1,546 and general infringement reports.
Reports are given to prosecutors to analyze. If they deem the offence legitimate, a judge will then make the call on whether or not a fine will be issued, and for what amount.
At the start of the pandemic, Montreal police were warning people not to gather, only issuing tickets to those who refused to comply. But once word of the virus made its way through the city, they started enforcing the rules more strictly.
“I can hardly see how anybody is not aware of what’s going on for the past weeks,” SPVM inspector André Durocher said after the first 100 tickets were handed out.
The Sûreté du Québec has also handed out thousands of tickets so far, the total standing at 1,156 on Monday.
