Ontario police charge four people in a car together for not living in the same household

Though police in Ontario no longer have the short-lived powers that Premier Doug Ford granted them to pull people over and check where they reside and why they're out of the house during the provincewide stay-at-home order, there have now been multiple instances in which citizens have been caught violating pandemic orders while driving.

Last month, authorities in Timmins charged five people for breaching COVID-19 orders by riding in a car together despite being from different households, which was discovered when their vehicle was pulled over for a RIDE spot check.

(Private indoor gatherings are prohibited across the province, while outdoor gatherings are limited to only those people who live together.)

Now, the same thing has happened again, this time in nearby Kirkland Lake, where four people were pulled over on Highway 112 over the weekend and charged with failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) for the same reason.

The passengers were found to be "from different households and travelling for non-essential purposes," which could land them each with a $750 ticket.

In less than a day's time, the same Ontario Provincial Police division responded to a large gathering at a local residence, charging 23 of those in attendance, as well as the party hose, under the ROA and the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA).

Apparently, people in the small northern mining town of less than 10,000 people continue to have issues abiding by present lockdown restrictions — a group of residents also gathered at a "freedom rally" earlier this month to protest the shutdown, an incident that also resulted in formal charges.