Police in Ontario’s cities, Canada’s most populous province, on Saturday refused to make random stops by the provincial government seeking to impose a stay-at-home order amid an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Toronto, the country’s largest city, Ottawa, Hamilton, Windsor and at least 19 other municipal police forces said they will not conduct random vehicle or individual shutdowns, although they have been given the power to do so. .
“The Toronto police service will continue to engage, educate and enforce, but we will not make random stops of people or cars,” the force said on Twitter. Mayor John Tory supported the decision.
Ontario, home to 38% of the Canadian population, had 4,362 new infections on Saturday after recording 4,812 cases on Friday, and projections indicate the virus could rise to 10,000 a day in June without stricter health restrictions.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford, increasingly on fire for mishandling the province’s pandemic response, on Friday gave police the authority to stop driving or walking anyone to ask them to explain the reason for their departure from home and issued them tickets if they violated the rules. Read more
Steven Del Duca, leader of the opposition Liberal Party in Ontario, said Ford was imposing “martial law” and that the measure was a “dangerous attack on racialized Ontarians” that would be unfairly targeted.
Expanded police powers run the risk of causing “an eruption of racial profiles and general police powers, presuming all those guilty until proven otherwise,” the Civil Liberties Association of Canada said.
Ford also said it will block non-essential travel from neighboring provinces starting Monday. On Saturday, Ontario provincial police said they were preparing to enforce that order.
In recent weeks, Ontario has closed schools, restaurants, limited in-store shopping and canceled elective surgeries as rising revenues threatened to overwhelm hospitals. Friday also closed some works, but no warehouses or factories.
Critics say Ford dropped a pre-order too soon to stay home, allowing for a current surge in cases putting pressure on hospitals. On Friday, Ford blamed the federal government for the third wave, saying it had been too slow to increase vaccines and was too lenient at the borders.
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