Legal F.A.Q. on COVID Police Powers

Updated April 18, 2021

Political Context:

On April 17, 2021, facing the highest COVID-19 case counts and a slow roll out of vaccines especially in the hardest hit neighbourhoods, the Premier of Ontario and Ontario conservatives expanded police powers, choosing to address a public health crisis through individualized enforcement. These expanded police powers accompany an April Stay at Home order.

We know that not everyone can stay at home and that many people remain at risk for the virus because our public health approach has not prioritized essential workers for the vaccine and does not include income supports for people who lost work or paid sick days.

We also know that expanding policing powers will impact those already targeted by the police – especially racialized and poor communities. This legal guide provides more information on the stay at home order, as well as what powers the police do and not have under the new COVID rules.

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Summary of the Rules:

Who can enforce COVID rules?

Police officers or provincial offences officers.

What new powers do the police or provincial officers have under COVID?

Officers can enforce both the Stay-at-Home order and other emergency orders.¹

If an officer has a reason to suspect that you are in a “prohibited” outdoor gathering of more than 5 people, the officer can “require the individual to provide information for the purpose of determining whether they are in compliance” with the rule prohibiting those gatherings.
If an officer has a reasonable basis (more than a suspicion!) to believe that you are breaking a COVID rule, then they can demand your name, date of birth and address. You can state that to the police – you don’t need to show proof of it.

The latest COVID rule is the April 7, 2021 Stay-at-Home Order (O. Reg. 265/21). This Order states that people should remain in their current residence at all times. But there are 29 reasons listed for why people can leave their homes, including working or volunteering, going to school or attending trainings, child care, obtaining food or goods or services, going to the bank, exercising, going to the playground, or providing care for others.

What happens if I don’t comply with the police?

The law says an individual who is stopped under this law “shall promptly comply.” Refusing to identify yourself carries a fine of $750 for failure to comply with an order or $1000 for obstructing a person in exercising their powers. See here. But in general, If you are stopped by the police or arrested, you do not have to answer any other questions outside of those outlined above. You do not have to give a statement to police.

Can the police disperse a protest?

The Stay-at-Home Order does not override constitutional rights to free association and expression, which protect the right to organize and protest. An Officer may order people to disperse from a gathering – however this power has not been used to disperse any protests that MDC has supported to date. If you are ticketed, these tickets can be challenged.

Footnotes:

¹ These include: O. Reg. 8/21, O. Reg. 114/20, and O. Reg. 294/21.

² Support includes: Community Justice Collective (for Qs re organizing & expanded police powers); Movement Defence Committee (if you get ticketed while protesting; BLAC at 1 877 736 9406 (if you are Black and ticketed); Biking Lawyer (if you are a BIPOC biker or sex worker and ticketed).