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“At some point this pandemic, in some jurisdictions, stopped being about public health and started being about public order, because politicians weren’t seeing the behaviour that they wanted out of their constituents,” said Michael Bryant, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

He warned that the still-hazy social distancing measures being enforced across the country could lead to further negligence if people feel targeted, or if government is seen to be overreaching its authority. Various pundits and political observers have warned that the social fallout from overly strict isolation measures could outweigh the health risks themselves.

“When laws are unworkable or indecipherable, people will ignore them,” Bryant said. “When enforcement is unfair and arbitrary, people become less compliant and more defiant. They focus less on trying to obey the rules, and more on trying to not get caught.”

The warning comes amid mounting confusion and frustration over the introduction of stringent social distancing rules, which have been enforced in a patchwork manner across Canadian cities and towns.

Bylaw officers in Ottawa handed out more than 40 tickets this weekend, including an $880 fine for a man who was caught walking his dog. Corey Yanofsky was fined for walking through Ottawa’s Britannia Park, which has been closed to pedestrians in an effort to contain the spread of the virus, according to a report by the Ottawa Citizen. Officers ticketed another Ottawa man $2,000 for declining to identify himself.