TORONTO – The provincial government has reversed course on new policing powers it announced on Friday in the face of pushback from civil society groups, municipal leaders, and police departments.
Police will now have grounds to stop members of the public only if they have “reason to suspect” they are violating provincial restrictions on public gatherings, under an amended regulation announced by solicitor general Sylvia Jones Saturday afternoon.
Just the day before, the government had issued new regulations allowing police sweeping powers to stop and question anyone to ask them for their address and reason for being away from their place of residence, under the province’s stay-at-home order.
Fines for individuals breaking the order go as high as $750.
The Thunder Bay Police Service said earlier Saturday it would not stop people at random, but only “when situations dictate, such as incidents where there has been a blatant disregard of the province’s stay-at-home orders.”
That made it one of at least 30 police forces in the province to officially state they would not use the new powers, the Toronto Star reported.
Officers must now have reason to suspect an individual is participating in a prohibited gathering, which includes an organized public event or social gathering of more than five people that is held outdoors, or indoor gatherings such as weddings, funerals, or religious services that exceed provincial limits.
"Where a police officer or other provincial offences officer has reason to suspect that an individual may be participating in a gathering that is prohibited… and believes that it would be in the public interest to determine whether the individual is in compliance with [the law], the officer may require the individual to provide information for the purpose of determining whether they are in compliance," the new regulation states.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said it would pause a legal challenge it was preparing to the original police orders Saturday.
"The new order rationalizes and narrows the unconstitutional Friday standard," said executive director Michael Bryant in a statement. "The new standard is also tied to a public health objective, and avoids arbitrary detention."
The Ford government has now backtracked on two measures it announced only Friday, in the face of record hospitalization and ICU numbers, and grim modelling indicating the province could see 10,000 daily cases of COVID-19 by the end of May, without strict public health measures.
Earlier Saturday, premier Doug Ford said the province would not order the closure of playgrounds, as it had originally announced Friday.
