Quebecers don't want to pay fines for quarantine violations

According to the latest figures from Quebec's Bureau des infractions et amendes, between April 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021, more than 16,000 fines were issued in the province for violations of quarantine measures. However, Canadians do not want to pay them.

Only 13% pleaded guilty or simply paid the fine. About 6,000 disputed the fines and the court will have to find out if they are really guilty.

"Usually people just pay the fine because they don't have time to argue. But here we're talking about a very large amount," says University of Montreal law professor Martin Valois.

Fines for non-compliance with sanitary measures in Quebec start at $1,000 CAD, plus fees of $546 CAD. According to Valois, because of the large number of disputes, litigation could drag on until at least the end of 2022.

Among the violators there are many who simply ignore the fine. In this case, the authorities will have to find ways to make people pay the due amounts.

"You can't just ignore a fine," Valois believes. — If you don't answer, whether you plead guilty or not, the court automatically considers you guilty. Then you have to incur even more costs."

A total of 16,261 fines were issued in the province during the pandemic year, and of those:

• 964 people pleaded guilty;
• 1,258 paid the fine without admitting guilt;
• 3,842 were ignored;
• 5,724 pleaded not guilty;
• 4,473 awaiting court notice asking for a guilty plea.

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