UPDATE: Court grants Ottawa’s request to increase maximum fines for by-laws

The Ontario Court of Justice has granted Ottawa’s request to increase fines for some of the infractions that have punctuated the downtown occupation for nearly two weeks.

The City asked the court to increase the maximum fines for flouting the noise by-law, blocking roads and lighting illegal open-fires.

All of those infractions will now carry a maximum fine of $1,000 each. However, with the victim surcharge, those fines will add up to $1,130.

Roger Chapman, director of by-law and regulatory services,c clarified that the City is also submitting the same request for an increase int he set fine for certain relevant offences under the idling control by-law now that city council has approved the amendment reducing the temperature prescribed in the by-law to -15 C, from 5 C, applicable only to the demonstration areas/ 

The increased set find will take effect when by-law received approval from the Regional Senior Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice.

According to a poll done by Leger, almost two-thirds of Canadians oppose the Ottawa protest.

And just over half of Canadians polled said they found the convoy in Ottawa “scary” because it reminded them of the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washtington last year.

Despite criticism toward Ottawa’s police service from the public, police service’s board chair Diane Deans defended the police’s response and said on Tuesday, February 8 that now is not the time for critiquing the service.

That time will, however, come later to review how the response was handled.

Update: An earlier version of the story said the new by-law fines included illegally idling vehicles. However, the City of Ottawa has since clarified that it is still seeking approval for that specific by-law.