A man and woman from Niagara Falls face non-criminal charges after they allegedly violated Ontario laws designed to restrict the spread of COVID-19.
A 21-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were charged under provincial legislation and not under the criminal code, so their names are not being released.
They were charged with failing to comply with a continued section 7.0.2 order under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act which limits social indoor gatherings to under 10 people per premise. The fine for the offence is $880.
Police were called to a hotel in the area of Fallsview Blvd. and Murray St. on Dec. 11 in Niagara Falls. They arrived to find that 30 people in a room in the hotel had gathered. “Many in attendance not wearing face coverings,” a Niagara police advisory said.
An investigation into the unlawful gathering as defined by the Reopening Ontario Act revealed that a similar incident had occurred on Dec. 5, involving over 20 young adults. “Both gatherings required police to intervene and all those in attendance were eventually evicted,” said the NRPS news release.
The investigation also resulted in the arrest of one person for trespassing and not leaving when directed to do so.