Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) said they are following up with organizers of an event that drew a large crowd to the downtown core this past weekend.
On March 20, more than 140 people gathered outside the provincial building in Sudbury to protest COVID-19 restrictions.
The "Rally of Freedom" was attended by people of all ages. Few of the attendees were wearing masks or social distancing.
The event was in clear violation of the current lockdown restrictions as Greater Sudbury is currently in the Grey-Lockdown zone, which requires outdoor gatherings not exceed more than 10 people. The event lasted about four hours.
While the City of Greater Sudbury said bylaw officers were in attendance, along with members of the GSPS, no attempts were made to shut down the event.
At this time, no fines have been issued in relation to the protest. However, GSPS said they will be following up with the event organizers.
"Officers from our Police Liaison Team were present at the MADSudbury rally outside of the provincial tower on Larch Street on Saturday afternoon where approximately 200 community members were present," GSPS corporate communications co-ordinator Kaitlyn Dunn told Sudbury.com. "The event was peaceful and did not impede traffic flow on Paris Street at any time.
"Due to the size of the gathering and based on our resources (two officers on scene), it was determined that officers would follow up with organizers after the fact rather than attempt to issue tickets to everyone in attendance."
The set fine for organizing an event with more than 10 people outdoors is $10,000. For attendees, the fine is $880.
Meanwhile, on March 19, a business owner in Hanmer was served with one fine and a separate warning for violating the Reopening Ontario Act.
Sherry Dawson, owner of the Shear Magic Stylist Salon, was fined $880 by the city's bylaw office. Public Health Sudbury & Districts also paid Dawson a visit to tell her she would be fined $5,000 a day if she remained open.
Dawson said she will not close her salon and plans to dispute the fines.
She posted videos of both interactions on social media. You can watch those below:
