Police issue more than $400K in fines at weekend anti-lockdown rally in Montreal

MONTREAL — Police say they issued more than $400,000 worth of tickets to anti-lockdown protesters during a demonstration outside the Quebec premier’s office in Montreal on Sunday.

Const. Julien Levesque says police handed out 269 fines of $1,546 each to protesters who had allegedly broken public health rules including by not wearing a mask.

Protesters gathered at the downtown Montreal office of Premier Francois Legault before marching toward an east-end park.

Quebec reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 infections over the weekend, including a record 2,146 on Sunday. More than a thousand people are in hospital with the disease.

The province has closed schools ahead of the winter break and won’t reopen them before Jan. 11 to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

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Legault has also ordered all businesses his government deems non-essential to close Dec. 25 until at least Jan. 11.