Ottawa 
Police detain a woman during a demonstration in Montreal, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, where people protested measures implemented by the Quebec government to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Montreal police say they handed out 269 tickets for breaking public health guidelines during a protest Sunday against the province’s lockdown measures. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Police say they issued more than $400,000 worth of tickets to anti-lockdown protesters during a demonstration outside the Quebec premier’s office in Montreal on Sunday.
Const. Julien Levesque says police handed out 269 fines of $1,546 each to protesters who had allegedly broken public health rules including by not wearing a mask.
Protesters gathered at the downtown Montreal office of Premier Francois Legault before marching toward an east-end park.
Quebec reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 infections over the weekend, including a record 2,146 on Sunday. More than a thousand people are in hospital with the disease.
The province has closed schools ahead of the winter break and won’t reopen them before Jan. 11 to reduce COVID-19 transmission.
Legault has also ordered all businesses his government deems non-essential to close Dec. 25 until at least Jan. 11.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2020.
The Canadian Press
