The haunted tunnel in St-Lazare will be allowed to operate on Halloween, according to owner Scott Trainor.
Trainor says he and the Sûreté du Québec have come to an “understanding” in regards to the spooky tempo walkthrough on his front lawn following a warning over a breach of coronavirus regulations.
“We are relieved that we have come to an agreement with the SQ police,” Trainor said.
After numerous back-and-forth phone calls with police officials, Trainor says he got the “go-ahead.”
According to Trainor, police will not be handing out fines, if sanitary measures are followed and enforced.
On Saturday, when the tunnel debuted, more than 300 people showed up — including the police.
The SQ issued a warning for holding an illegal gathering in a COVID-19 red zone.
Trainor said police threatened to give him a $1,000 ticket if he were to open the tunnel to the public again.
Trainor argues his front lawn was never the scene of a gathering, because all but one family at a time were on the street.
New safety measures will be in place for Halloween.
Private security guards will be on hand to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing as well as urge people to sanitize their hands before entering the display.
“We have the guidelines set up already,” Trainor said. “We just really want it to be safe. Times are not easy and we know the community needs this.”
There’s a sanitizing station at the entrance and only one family is allowed in at a time.
All the mechanical parts are triggered by remote control, meaning the families are alone inside.
A spokesperson for the SQ said they could not comment on this particular event but said routine patrols will be done in the area on Halloween night, adding that officers may hand out fines if rules are not followed.
“As long as we hold our end of the agreement, we will be all right,” Trainor said.
“We’re just happy everyone can get to experience it on Halloween.”