{"id":3991,"date":"2020-05-21T22:10:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T02:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=3991"},"modified":"2020-05-21T22:10:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T02:10:12","slug":"more-restrictions-on-movement-savage-fines-in-the-pandemic-hysteria-more-state-tyranny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/?p=3991","title":{"rendered":"More Restrictions On Movement & Savage Fines in the Pandemic Hysteria: More State Tyranny"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\nCOVID-19: NOTL store fined $880 for patrons not social distancing \u2013 on the sidewalk outside\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sign outside of Nina Gelateria asks people to practice physical distancing. (Richard Harley)\n\n\nShare this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kevin MacLean<\/a>, Managing Editor<\/strong>\nMay 20, 2020 | Wednesday\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A store in Old Town has been fined $880 for violating a provincial \norder after patrons on the sidewalk outside were found to be ignoring \npandemic social distancing rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owners of Nina Gelateria and Pastry Shop were ticketed by a Town \nof Niagara-on-the-Lake bylaw officer for a violation on Sunday, May 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downtown NOTL was packed with visitors that weekend, despite a state \nof emergency and few services being available. More than 10,000 vehicles\n entered Old Town that Saturday and Sunday, according to town traffic \ncount data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town refused to release any details on the ticket, citing privacy statutes and the fact the matter was before the courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTL\u2019s acting senior enforcement officer Henry Boese said he can\u2019t \ntalk about it. \u201cThat incident is currently with the Ontario Court of \nJustice and I can\u2019t speak about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to a question asking to clarify the town\u2019s position on \nwhat businesses should be doing on sidewalks to enforce distancing, \nspokesperson Lauren Kruitbosch said, \u201cBusinesses should be taking \nreasonable steps to enforce physical distancing within the business. \nSidewalks can be used by pedestrians waiting in line to enter a store \n(while maintaining physical distance). They can\u2019t however, be used for \nbusiness purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Martinovic, who co-owns Nina Gelateria with his wife Klaudia, \nconfirmed receiving the ticket, a $750 set fine plus costs totalling \n$880. The fine has been paid, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until that first weekend in May, the shop, at 37 Queen St., \nwas \u201cclosed on the weekends as we were just catering to our locals, \nMonday to Friday,\u201d Martinovic said in a statement to The Lake Report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The store owners heard there would be a parking ban and many bylaw \nofficers in town for added support, \u201cso we decided that it would be OK \nto open up. We have always followed the provincial guidelines in the \nstore with signs and floor markings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a take-out\/curbside pickup establishment, we never had any issues\n with serving our sweets, pizzas, crepes or panini sandwiches safely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, May 3, Queen Street was very busy. \u201cWe wish we received a \nwarning or some communication first, but we ended up receiving a fine \nfor not enforcing physical distancing in front of our store.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA big problem is that the sidewalk is shared by people waiting to \nget inside the store (while waiting in line) and with pedestrian traffic\n and it clearly presents a challenge for businesses and the town, moving\n forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the customers outside were families, who, when standing \ntogether in line, can appear to not be complying with physical \ndistancing requirements, Martinovic said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut as they are a family unit, they stay in close proximity together and this is allowed under present regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe good news since then is that we have maintained positive \ncommunication with the town and are working together to make sure we are\n on the same page,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kruitbosch said the town has laid 42 charges during the state of emergency, which was declared on March 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome were laid as trespass, the majority for violation of the \n(province\u2019s) emergency order. The identities of persons or businesses \ncharged are protected by the Municipal Freedom of Information and \nProtection of Privacy Act.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19: NOTL store fined $880 for patrons not social distancing \u2013 on the sidewalk outside A sign outside of Nina Gelateria asks people to practice physical distancing. (Richard Harley) Share this: Kevin MacLean, Managing Editor May 20, 2020 | Wednesday … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2136,2202],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3992,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3991\/revisions\/3992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cafe.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}