Dr. Dennis Kendel spoke during the Saskatoon Police Commissioners meeting on Thursday to express his concerns with how COVID-19 mandate violation cases are being handled.
Kendel specifically asked about the People’s Party of Canada rally during the 2021 federal election in Saskatoon.
Many people in attendance were not wearing masks, which violated provincial health orders.
Police were at the event, but they did not ticket anyone that night.
Kendel asked how police make decisions about handing out tickets in cases like this.
Chief Troy Cooper with the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) explained that they handled it to the best of their ability with the resources on hand.
“Fortunately most people have been compliant, but when they’re not, addressing that is difficult. Preventative measures would require something farther than that. Something that would presume that we knew an offence would occur that was serious enough that the police would be involved,” said Cooper.
The police have currently identified eight out of 15 people from the event.
One charge has been laid under The Public Health Act, and SPS has drawn up another 20 tickets for violations.