Several major Canadian police forces say social media rumours that they are pulling over drivers under new coronavirus emergency powers are simply not true, with one blasting the claims as “all fake news.” Over the past several days, there have been reports on platforms like WhatsApp and Twitter of police around the Greater Toronto Area pulling over vehicles and then laying fines of between $750 and $1,000 if the passengers inside are not all from the same household or conducting essential business.
The claim is that this is being done under the new emergency powers in place in the province. It is true that those new powers do give police and bylaw officers the authority to lay fines of either $750 or $1,000 for gatherings of more than