Manitoba hands out nearly $60K in fines for breaking public health orders

WINNIPEG — Manitoba enforcement officers handed out nearly $60,000 in fines in one week to people and businesses defying the public health orders.

According to the province’s enforcement report from Jan. 25 to 31, enforcement officers gave out a total of 159 warnings and 56 tickets during this period.

These tickets include 42 $1,296 fines to individuals for various acts of defiance, as well as 14 $298 fines for people not wearing masks in indoor public places. This comes to a total of $58,604 in fines.

The report notes that two businesses were fined $1,296 this week, including Diamonds Massage Studio in Winnipeg and Studio 500 Hair Salon in Winkler.

The number of personal $1,296 charges handed out this week is notably more than the week before when enforcement officers gave out 29 of these tickets, as well as 16 fines to people not wearing masks.

The report also shows that between Jan. 25 and 31, no one in Manitoba was charged for breaking the Federal Quarantine Act.

Since April, enforcement officers have given out 899 tickets to Manitobans for breaking public health restrictions, resulting in a total of $1,262,436 in fines.