Ottawa bylaw officers on Friday will begin fining repeat offenders who hang out in closed parks and who violate a recent provincial order that banned gatherings larger than five people in order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the mayor said. “This is a serious issue and we’ve been trying to be reasonable and lenient,” Jim Watson said in a teleconference call with reporters. “But those days are over.” The emergency order issued by the Ontario government six days ago gave local bylaw officers the power to enforce the ban on big groups and issue steep fines, starting at $750 for individuals.
Asked about the enforcement throughout this week, municipal officials said the bylaw department was averaging more than 100 calls per day