The Manitoba Government is cracking down and issuing fines to those who took part in an anti-mask rally in Steinbach earlier this month.
Premier Brian Pallister says they’re still not done laying down the law.
“16 tickets have been handed out so far,” says Pallister, “There’s investigation continuing on a large number of additional tickets for individuals who unfortunately decided that their right to rally was more important than someone else’s right to life itself.”
He explains that at the end of the day, human lives matter more than anything.
“Peaceful protest in a democracy is never to be taken lightly, but today’s public health and emergency orders matter more. This rally put public health at risk for everyone who attended and everyone who came into contact (with those who attended).”
Pallister adds that he longs for the day they don’t need to issue tickets and everyone follows the public health orders put in place.
“The message is clear; protect each other. If you break the rules, there are going to be consequences. You don’t have to believe in COVID…COVID believes in you. If you don’t understand that by now, I guess more money out of your pockets (will be) the consequence.”
There were 476 new COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba on Tuesday, with the province-wide test positivity rate climbing slightly to 14.2 per-cent.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Steinbach had a test positivity rate of around 40 per-cent.
The latest data shows 346 active COVID-19 cases in Steinbach.
