A dedicated team of Ottawa bylaw officers will “immediately” begin enforcing the province’s new emergency order that bans gatherings larger than five people in order to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the city’s mayor announced on Monday.
In a teleconference call with health officials and reporters, Mayor Jim Watson confirmed that the city’s bylaw department has been given new powers by the Ontario government to implement the new rule and issue steep fines for violations — and he didn’t mince his words as he urged residents to “respect the law.” “It is completely irresponsible when I get reports back that people are having house parties or porch parties and they are pouring out onto the street,” the mayor said. “This is a serious