HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia RCMP ticketed three men and one woman with violating the Health Protection Act, after responding to a ‘large gathering of approximately 30 people’ early Sunday morning in Wolfville, N.S.
Police say at approximately 1 a.m. on April 25, police observed a gathering at a residence on Highland Avenue.
According to police, officers dispersed the gathering and were met with ‘belligerent behaviour by the occupants of the home’.
Three men and one woman were each fined $1,000 under Section 71(1)(b) of the Health Protection Act.
On Sunday afternoon, Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin announced the fines for gathering in violation of the Health Protection Act were increased to $2,000.
"We were relieved to hear that the police acted quickly and issued fines," said Rankin during Sunday’s news update. "But, the current fine does not seem to be enough of a deterrent."
RCMP say that wasn’t the only incident during what they call a ‘busy weekend of partying in Wolfville’.
Between 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 a.m. Sunday, officers charged three people for illegal possession of liquor while walking in the area of Bay Street, Gaspereau Avenue and Highland Avenue.
Two men and one woman, in their late teens and early twenties, were charged under Section 78(2) of the Liquor Control Act, which carries a fine of $467.50.
Police also responded to a party on Summer Street on Saturday evening and charged a 21-year-old woman under Section 4.1 of the Town of Wolfville Nuisance Party Bylaw for sponsoring a nuisance party. The woman was fined $582.50.
RCMP reminds the public that Nova Scotians, businesses and organizations that do not follow gathering limits, social distancing guidelines and self-isolation requirements, will now face fines of $2,000 for individuals and $7,500 for businesses and organizations.
