Measures limiting personal contact to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have seemed like suggestions to beachgoers in the Vancouver area, where basketball games and picnics in the midst of a pandemic prompted the mayor to announce fines on Monday.
Vancouver has closed parking lots at popular sites like Kitsilano Beach, where basketball hoops have also been removed.
Citizens concerned about the flouting of public health orders prohibiting group gatherings have taken to posting photos and videos of such scenes, with pleas for municipalities to enforce compliance.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a stern message Monday to people who have been gathering in groups. Those who choose to ignore social-distancing advice or venture into crowded places are putting themselves and others at risk of infection, he said.
“We’ve all seen the pictures online of people who seem to think they’re invincible. Well, you’re not. Enough is enough,” he said. “Go home and stay home.”
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1:54 Prime Minister Trudeau losing patience with people who don’t practice social distancing
Prime Minister Trudeau losing patience with people who don’t practice social distancing
Vancouver city council voted unanimously Monday to permit fines as high as $50,000 against businesses that don’t adhere to social distancing measures and up to $1,000 for individuals.
Stewart said in a Tweet that asking nicely for compliance has not worked. “This is serious. Now is the time to shut down, stay put, save lives.”
A spokesman for the mayor said in a statement bylaw officer will focus on businesses first, but people can be fined “if they don’t get the message.”
“Police are also able to enforce provincial and local health orders. All options are on the table.”
Nova Scotia limited groups to a maximum of five people on Monday and police have been empowered to enforce social distancing with $1,000 fines for individuals and $7,500 for businesses.
Quebec announced fines of at least $1,000 against anyone ignoring a directive to prohibit gatherings.
Dr. Peter Phillips, a clinical professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the University of British Columbia, said fines must become widespread as part of aggressive containment measures to prevent more illness.
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5:06 Coronavirus: Health minister wants Canadians to understand seriousness of COVID-19 crisis
Coronavirus: Health minister wants Canadians to understand seriousness of COVID-19 crisis
He said Trudeau struck the right tone by calling out people who are not keeping their distance from others.
“We really can’t be permissive about this. Otherwise we’re not going to end up with an effective plan for social distancing,” Phillips said, calling the online evidence of non-compliance “disturbing.”
“If it takes shaming then so be it. If we are hesitant about putting these measures in place because we might infringe on people’s rights a bit too much, one needs to keep in focus the experience playing out in Italy in recent days,” he said of thousands of deaths in that country.
“The rights of Canadians who are not currently infected, who will become infected and suffer serious disease or a fatal outcome, those people’s rights need to be kept in focus as well.”
Canada’s other responses should include supervised quarantine for returning travellers, he said, adding that the example of European countries where the virus is spreading rapidly should be considered a warning to take immediate action.
1:58 Coronavirus outbreak: Social distancing concerns on Vancouver’s downtown eastside
Coronavirus outbreak: Social distancing concerns on Vancouver’s downtown eastside
Taiwan and South Korea’s efforts are examples of ways to reduce the rate of infection within weeks, Phillips said. They will also save on social and economic costs, he said.
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Foreign travellers under quarantine should be monitored, as was done in Taiwan, Phillips said, but $100 million in federal funding announced earlier this month for public health initiatives as part of a $1-billion package is inadequate to support such services.
Travellers with significant exposure risk were quarantined at home in Taiwan and monitored through text messaging to ensure adherence, lowering the risk of passing on the virus, he said.
“If people don’t comply with it then they have done something about it. It’s not just an ask over there. If people have been breaking quarantine then they have been fined.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
