Thousands of complaints have been made by residents across the GTA since emergency measures to limit gatherings and enforce physical distancing came into place, but only a handful of charges have been laid.

Last week, municipalities in the 905 region said they would begin actively enforcing orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to slow the spread of COVID-19 and would issue fines of $750 wherever applicable.

But municipalities say they are trying to focus on education over enforcement.

As of Monday, the city of Mississauga said it had received 452 complaints, while Brampton had 311 complaints. Halton Regional police said it had 209 COVID-19 related calls over the weekend.

York Region said it had 430 calls over the last week about non-compliance with the emergency orders, but had laid no charges.

In comparison, Toronto authorities issued 26 tickets for $1,000 and gave 976 cautions over the weekend during patrols of more than 300 parks and public spaces.

“Our city’s protocol is to always ‘inform and educate’ as a first step, with fines being issued as an escalated second step if necessary,” said Nicole McInerney, with the city of Mississauga.

She said 108 complaints were made in relation to parks, not respecting physical distancing, or tampering with closed parking lots. Two $750 tickets were issued.

“Both individuals were caught by our officers using a clearly signed skateboard park,” said McInerney. “Both were also disrespecting physical distancing. Both individuals admitted they were aware of the park closure but chose to use it anyways.”

Mississauga also issued warning letters to four businesses deemed to be non-essential, which were still open, she said. Three businesses complied with the notice, while the fourth didn’t.

“This resulted in Peel Police laying two charges against the business as well as a physical distancing violation,” she said.

Mississauga had 30 officers out in an enforcement blitz over the weekend, and added 25 security officers stationed at 10 destination parks in the city. The city said that in addition to their regular parks and security staff, it “contracted a total of 25 third-party security staff for a duration of seven days to bolster” enforcement efforts.

All of the conservation areas in the GTA have been closed since the end of March to prevent the public from gathering, and all city park amenities have been shut as well. Trails are open, however, physical distancing measures are being strictly enforced.

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The city of Brampton received 311 complaints around non-compliance over the past week. Of those, 75 per cent “were not violations” and 25 per cent “required education.”

Natalie Stogdill, a spokesperson with Brampton said that two charges have been issued to date. The first ticket was issued on Tuesday after a resident called 311 to report a backyard party in their neighbourhood. The second charge was laid against a non-essential business for staying open.

Toronto had also bolstered its enforcement staff over the weekend, with police, bylaw officers and public health inspectors. Many officers were stationed at popular city destinations like Bluffer’s Park in Scarborough and High Park, where hundreds of vehicles were turned away.

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