STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Oct. 21, 2020
The MRC des Collines police has received multiple phone calls over the past week from residents asking whether they are allowed to travel from one location to another, suggesting that there is confusion over whether inter-regional travel is prohibited or not.
The City of Gatineau and the MRC des Collines both became red zones on Oct. 10 while the MRC Pontiac remained an orange zone, but travel between the regions is . . .
not prohibited, unlike during the first wave.
“They’re just saying the same thing [as before], basically if it’s not essential, stay home,” Police Spokesperson Sgt. Martin Fournel said. “If you don’t really have to do it, don’t do it, but it’s not prohibited. At this moment it’s not prohibited, [if] you need to go to work that’s one thing. Until further notice, it’s business as usual.”
Fournel was unsure of when police might receive a provincial directive to set up a roadblock at the regional boundary between Quyon and the Municipality of Bristol.
“We might have some roadblocks again, but we don’t want to go back to full confinement that we had before.”
He said that police are currently doing their best to manage COVID-19 compliance without being too punitive.
“Since the beginning of COVID, we [MRC des Collines police] gave only six fines,” he said. “So giving fines is not our goal, we’re still in the prevention, information mode.”
While bars and restaurants in des Collines are now closed, significant fines remain for people not abiding by the single household private gathering rule.
“I believe it’s $1,000 plus fees, with fees it comes to $1,500,” Fournel said. “And the government gave us the power to do it on the spot, like a speeding ticket basically. We didn’t give any [tickets] since the second wave, the goal is not that.”
“Basically the message that we’re saying is before doing something, just ask yourself the question, Is it essential or not?”
