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The Saskatchewan government is looking to hit those who violate its emergency orders right in the wallet.
On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Party government introduced the Emergency Planning Amendment Act, which will increase the maximum fines for persons who don’t comply with emergency orders.
The new ceiling for fines under the act will be $7,500 for individuals, up from $2,000, and $100,000 for corporations, up from $10,000.
“We want to make sure that we send a strong signal to the people of Saskatchewan, especially those who would ignore our public health orders about the seriousness of the ramifications and consequences that can come from breaching public health orders,” Justice Minister Gord Wyant said Thursday.
Currently, fines for violations of public health orders can reach up to $75,000 for individuals and $100,000 for corporations.
The Ministry of Justice said tickets for smaller infractions under COVID-19 orders are expected to stay at the current $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations. If a violation of the orders were more serious and had to go to court, that’s when the larger fine ceilings would come into play.
But Thursday was the last day of the fall sitting of the legislative assembly, so the legislation raising the fines won’t actually pass and come into effect until the spring sitting.
“It’s a strange thing to say that somehow these changes to the act that won’t take place until the spring are a response to what we’re dealing with with COVID-19 today. If that’s a COVID-19 measure, it’s about as useful as me wearing my mask under my chin,” said Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili.
Wyant said the government didn’t pass the bill in the fall sitting because it wanted to have an opportunity for conversation and discussion, and with the shortened session, there wasn’t enough time.
Meili said he and his people would have been happy to stay a few days late to pass the bill but said that option wasn’t presented by the government.
According to the government, the legislation will offer protection for individuals and organizations from litigation based on COVID-19 transmission, assuming there has been good-faith compliance with emergency orders and other applicable laws.
Ontario and British Columbia recently passed similar legislation.
“The Emergency Planning Act was not originally designed to address an ongoing emergency on the magnitude of COVID-19,” a government news release said. “The long-term and large-scale nature of this pandemic has highlighted the need for updated legislation.”
