Over 60 charges laid following 1st weekend of stay-at-home order, Toronto police say

Toronto police say its officers laid 65 provincial and criminal charges over the first weekend of Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

The force says officers attended various large gatherings and enforced non-compliance where appropriate.

The Service laid 65 provincial & criminal charges over the first weekend of the Stay-at-Home order. Officers attended various large gatherings & enforced non-compliance where appropriate.

Visit https://t.co/VOuBfUKyt4 for our approach to enforcement of the provincial orders.

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) January 18, 2021

This comes after officers charged multiple people they say organized two separate large gatherings at Yonge Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square.

A third person allegedly assaulted a police officer.

“18 Fail To Comply charges were laid from the event at Yonge and Dundas Square,” officers said in a news release late Saturday evening.

Last week, multiple police forces, including Peel Regional Police and South Simcoe Police, took to social media to say they were flooded and “overwhelmed” with 9-1-1 calls regarding Ontario’s recently-legislated state of emergency and order.

Toronto Police confirmed in a release that the order does not give officers the ability to enter homes or stop vehicles to check if residents are complying with the regulations.

As per Ontario’s website, “A police officer or other provincial offences officer who has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that an individual has committed an offence under section 7.0.11 of the Act may require the individual to provide the officer with the individual’s correct name, date of birth and address.”

Over the weekend, around 50 ministry inspectors, local bylaw, and police officers visited big-box stores in Toronto, York, Peel, Durham, and Hamilton to ensure workers and customers were following health and safety measures.

The state of emergency will remain in place until February 11, at the earliest.