Multiple charges laid following large social gathering inside Toronto storage unit
Posted November 16, 2020 3:37 pm.
Last Updated November 17, 2020 2:23 pm.
Premier Doug Ford is strongly condemning a recent gathering in Toronto held inside a commercial storage unit that led to multiple charges being handed down.
On Tuesday, the premier said he’s proud of Toronto’s bylaw officers for cracking down on these types of careless events.
“Someone in that group is probably [COVID-19] positive and they’re spreading it around – man, I just give my head a shake when I hear these things,” Ford said.
A group of people got a little desperate over the weekend as Toronto’s COVID-19 enforcement team came across and subsequently broke up a gathering at a storage unit in the City.
Lead enforcement officer, Chief Matthew Pegg, said his team was busy breaking up a number of unsolicited gatherings, including the large birthday party thrown inside a commercial storage unit in the Kipling and Bloor area.
“Upon arrival, Toronto police officers observed in excess of 100 people in attendance,” Pegg said at Toronto’s COVID-19 briefing.
“In addition to this party being shutdown as a result of violations of the COVID-19 regulations and orders, charges under the Reopening Ontario Act were also laid against the organizer of this party.”
RELATED: London police charge multiple teenagers following large party over weekend
Pegg said the storage unit rented to host the party was not equipped for it, and an investigation is ongoing.
“100 people in a storage unit – really? It’s absolutely ridiculous,” the premier went on to say.
City enforcement teams also issued 31 tickets for gatherings at Toronto beaches that included illegal bonfires over the weekend, and charged five restaurants in the entertainment district for hosting indoor dining.
Near Halloween, Toronto’s enforcement team charged the organizer of an indoor Halloween party that had well over 50 people inside when police arrived.
Under province-wide rules, the bylaw states anyone caught hosting a get-together of more than 10 people indoors could be hit with a maximum fine of $10,000 while those in attendance could be fined $750.
