Hefty fines were supposed to help enforce COVID-19 rules in Ontario. But almost a year into the pandemic few have been paid

Yorkregion.com
March 8, 2021
Jennifer Pagliaro

Only 18 per cent of COVID-19 charges laid in Ontario since March last year had been dealt with by the justice system by the end of January, leaving hundreds of thousands of unpaid fines outstanding nearly a year into the pandemic.

Only 990 of the 5,584 charges laid since March 2020 had been dealt with -- fines being paid, the charges withdrawn or another disposition -- as of January 2021, according to data provided by the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Just 100 of 1,027 Toronto charges had been dealt with in the same period.

In fact, Toronto had the highest percentage of unresolved charges -- 90 per cent -- compared to all the other regions and compared to 82 per cent for the province overall.

As of January, a total $469,839 in fines had been paid across the province, including $27,620 from Toronto.

Hefty fines have been held up by provincial and other officials as a way to help enforce social distancing and other COVID-19 related rules.

But a Star analysis of the data shows that few have been forced to pay since an emergency was first declared last year. Though thousands of fines were handed out across the province, the vast majority of people have not yet faced any consequences.

“It’s a question of priorities,” said John Struthers, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, who added that provincial courts that deal with these offences are not running at full steam in the midst of pandemic.

“Many people might be hoping the mere laying of charges might have the deterrent effect,” he said.

In September, Premier Doug Ford announced a new minimum fine of $10,000 for organizers of illegal social gatherings -- the highest fine anywhere in the country, he said then.

“We will throw the book at you if you break the rules and we can’t afford to let a few rulebreakers reverse all the hard work and progress the people of Ontario have made over the past six months,” Ford said. “It’s just not fair to the vast majority of people who are following the rules and thinking about others.”

Abby Deshman​, criminal justice program director for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), said she’s not surprised provincial courts seem to not be running at full tilt, when criminal trials involving more serious matters have also been significantly delayed.

She said the CCLA saw people early on in the pandemic charged over a lot of technicalities, like resting on a park bench when use of outdoor equipment was banned. Because of that, she said, a lot of the tickets would benefit from a “second look” and the CCLA would like to see many of the charges withdrawn.

“We’ve been urging governments for some time now to take a step back from this and really look at, is this in the public interest … to aggressively move forward with all these tickets.”

The charges in the ministry’s data fall under three different pieces of provincial and federal legislation -- the Reopening Ontario Act, the Quarantine Act and the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Examples of the type of offences under those laws include gatherings over a set number of people (depending on what phase of reopening the region is in), violating quarantine rules upon returning to Canada from international travel or keeping a restaurant or bar running for in-person dining contrary to reopening rules.

There are two different types of charges -- those issued by ticket where the person charged can choose to pay the set fine out of court or those where the person is summoned to appear in court and there is no set fine. In either case, the charge can be disputed.

The ministry data provided to the Star does not show individual charges or what type of charges were laid, which range from $750 for breaking physical distancing or masking rules to Ford’s eye-watering fine.

Of the charges that had been dealt with, most were prepaid set fines that never went to trial and were not disputed. A small number of charges were withdrawn before trial. Most of the charges were laid under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Few actual trials, either because of the offence or because a charge is disputed, appear to have taken place.

Deshman said that judging by charges made early on in the pandemic that are being disputed, the prosecution has yet to move those cases along.

It also appears, she said, that there are fewer fines being paid than with other types of provincial offences like parking tickets, likely because the fines are so high and people are questioning the validity of the charge.

Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson Brian Gray said the ministry has made changes to hear provincial offences virtually and by phone -- including allowing early resolution guilty pleas to be held that way as of July 6.

While Gray said the ministry continues to work with court partners, his response indicated not all courts are yet able to hold virtual proceedings.

The city of Toronto, which oversees local bylaw enforcement officers who are responsible for enforcing the provincial COVID-19 laws, referred all questions to the ministry.

Trends were similar provincially and in Toronto, with the total number of charges dropping off in the summer months when case counts were lower and restrictions fewer.

The number of charges has been steadily climbing since new lockdown measures were put in place this fall and winter, with a monthly high of 1,368 charges laid in January.

Struthers said anyone tempted to continue disobeying emergency orders should think twice about multiple tickets, which may get them in real legal trouble.

Deshman disagreed that ticketing was an effective form of deterrence.

“The idea that we’re going to fine people and that that is going to meaningfully change their behaviour is compelling, but unfortunately it doesn’t stand up when you look at how people choose to behave,” she said.

“Lots of people are doing their best to comply and when you’re doing your best you’re making difficult decisions and 100 per cent compliance is just not going to be feasible for many people.”