Thunder Bay Police will not be doing the random stops that have been authorized under the province’s latest COVID-19 restrictions.
The province announced on Friday that starting Saturday, police forces would be able to ask pedestrians and drivers who are not at home their purpose for leaving home and to provide their home address.
A statement from police says they’re mindful of how the COVID regulations appear to the “broader public as well as within more marginalized, racialized and vulnerable communities.”
It says officers will enforce the rules when necessary, in situations where there is “blatant disregard” of the stay-at-home order.
Police add they will be sticking to what they call a “fair and reasonable approach” to enforcing the order.
Organizations like the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) quickly came out criticizing the decision to authorize random stops, saying it could put workers in danger.
“The announcement to give police the right to stop individuals and question them about their whereabouts may place essential workers who already are vulnerable in uncomfortable situations,” argues RNAO’s CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun in a statement released Friday night.
A statement from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) calls the enforcement orders “an overreach,” with OPSEU President Smokey Thomas comparing it to martial law.
“If improperly applied or perceived as being used to target, it will be remembered in history as carding on steroids. I am certain it is something police will not be happy about either,” Thomas says.
