Manitoba’s Premier held a press conference Tuesday morning where he released an update on enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions.
A total of 202 warnings and 100 tickets were issued last week from Nov. 23 to 29 including:
• 22 $5,000 tickets to businesses for various offences;
• 48 $1,296 tickets to individuals for various offences;
• 23 $298 tickets for failure to wear a mask in indoor public places; and
• seven band bylaw tickets were issued by Manitoba First Nations Police Service.
A total of $181,574 in fines were issued last week, up from $126,082 the week prior.
Current public health orders restrict indoor and outdoor gatherings in public places to five or less.
Pallister also provided an update on enforcement efforts related to religious services at two churches over the weekend. The Church of God (Restoration) received a business fine of $5,000, while individuals received a total of six tickets for $1,296. One $1,296 ticket was issued for a service held at Springs Church in Winnipeg. Several tickets are pending, including a business fine of $5,000. Investigations related to these services are ongoing and further tickets are expected to follow.
The province also provided an update on enforcement related to a large demonstration in Steinbach on Nov. 14. To date, 30 tickets have been sworn and more are expected to receive tickets as the investigation continues.
When asked whether charges would be laid for any of the offences Pallister replied that the investigation is continuing.
Since enforcement efforts began in April, a total of 663 warnings and 353 tickets have been issued, resulting in more than $549,846 in fines to businesses and individuals.
Almost 3,300 personnel across various agencies are empowered to enforce public health orders to protect Manitobans continue. This includes RCMP, law enforcement agencies, provincial employees and municipal partners, such as the City of Winnipeg. The number of personnel who are trained and actively enforcing public health orders continues to grow, with an additional 208 people trained as of last week.
