TORONTO – Ontario’s premier on Saturday lifted restrictions banning playgrounds and allowed police to declare anyone who is not home why they left after a setback by police, health officials and the public.
The pandemic restrictions imposed by Canada’s most populous province ended up in opposition immediately, as police departments insisted they would not use new forces to randomly stop pedestrians or motorists, and health experts complain that the rules focus on outdoor activities. rather than more dangerous indoor settings.
The government of Ontario, Doug Ford, announced on Friday that it is giving police the power to demand that someone who is not home should explain why they are away and give their address. Tickets can be written.
Ontario Attorney General Sylvia Jones said officers on Saturday would no longer have the right to stop pedestrians or vehicles to ask why they were away or requesting their home address.
But Jones said police may require a person to provide information to ensure they comply with the restrictions if the officer has reason to suspect the person is attending an organized public event or social gathering.
Earlier, at least a dozen police forces across Ontario, including in the capital of Toronto, said there would be no random stops of people or cars.
‘We’re all going through a horrible year of COVID-19 and all that together. The (department) will NOT stop vehicles at random during the pandemic or thereafter, ”tweeted Halton police chief Steve Tanner.
Ford’s Friday announcement restricted outdoor gatherings to those in the same household and closed playgrounds and golf courses. The decisions have drawn widespread criticism in a province that is already closed. Restaurants and gyms are closed, as is classroom instruction. Most non-important workers work from home.
On Saturday, Ford revoked an initially announced ban on playgrounds, but added that the ban on ‘outdoor events will still be enforced’, Ford tweeted.
Ford has complained about overcrowded parks and playgrounds, but at Friday’s new conference no mention was made of workplaces considered essential, such as factories where the virus spreads
“What we need: increased restrictions to reduce inside contact, support for vital frontline workers, paid sick leave, a reprioritisation of vaccination of vaccines for severely affected communities,” said Joe Cressy, a Toronto City Councilor. is, tweeted.
“What we got: the closure of outdoor facilities, which we need to keep people safe and healthy.”
“I need to intubate another COVID patient who is infected in a playground,” said Dr. Ian Preyra, who works at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, Ontario, tweeted.
“Warehouse worker, truck driver, construction worker … none of my COVID patients found it in the park today. They are angry and they have no voice. Shameful, ”tweeted dr. Aman Sidhu, a pulmonologist in Toronto.
Dr Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, said the closure of playgrounds and other outdoor recreation facilities would ’cause a lot of damage to the children and their families whose well-being has already harmed us by being forced to to close schools. ‘
He complained that the new rules do not provide paid sick leave or improved protection for essential workers, although it does allow police to target whoever they choose to accommodate them to ensure they are properly outside their home.
“It will not affect a white man like me. It will target essential workers and racist people. THAT is what people talk about when they describe systemic racism,” Morris wrote weekly in emails to followers.
Ontario reported 4,362 new infections on Saturday and a record 2065 people in the hospital who received treatment for COVID. It has pleaded with other provinces to send nurses and other health workers.
Vaccinations have increased in Canada, the presence of more contagious variants in Ontario has led to a third wave of infections.
Ford said a lack of vaccines necessitated the new restrictions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that Pfizer will double the delivery of vaccines to Canada over the next month, with millions more shots than expected in May and June.
Every Canadian is expected to be eligible by at least one shot by July.
Ontario closed schools just days ago after insisting for weeks that they were safe. ) The new initial order to close playgrounds has angered parents.
“The cognitive dissonance between the Secretary of Education who insists schools are safe, and then to let playgrounds come to mind,” said Jim Vlahos, a 44-year-old father of two in Toronto.
“There is no rhyme or reason for the closures outside.”
Owen Holliday, a 16-year-old man who works at a golf course in Shelburne, Ontario, is now out of work and said he is very upset, especially for seniors getting their exercise through the sport.
“With all the protocols, prepaid booking, clubhouses closed, masks driving with someone outside the household, golf is not as safe as it can get,” he said.