Lethbridge Police Service and Alberta government share enforcement numbers

Alberta’s Justice Minister Kaycee Madu recently announced that fines for defying provincial public health orders will double to $2,000.

Lethbridge Police have issued five charges for failing to comply with the Public Health Order and two related charges under the City of Lethbridge Bylaw (trespassing and assembly without permit) in total. It is not clear how many warnings have been issued.

The Alberta government told Bridge City News that they are currently, “assembling updated numbers,” however, between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, they are aware of 576 tickets being filed in the Provincial Court of Alberta under s 73.1 of the Public Health Act in Alberta.

In that year, of those tickets, fewer than half (40%) have been withdrawn —  38% remain before the court, and it can take several months for these matters to work their way through the court process.

The Alberta government says that they were not able to pull up circumstances for each ticket.