London police have charged three women who they say organized a rally to protest COVID-19 restrictions that drew about 200 people to Victoria Park on Sunday.
The London women — aged 36, 37 and 44 — all face the same two charges under the Reopening Ontario Act: hosting an outdoor gathering exceeding provincial limits and taking part in an outdoor gathering exceeding provincial limits.
The women face fines ranging from $750 to $10,000.
Police said they contacted the organizers before the rally to let them they know they could face charges if they went ahead.
“Regardless of whether or not the organizers were warned in advance, there have been warnings from the community and the province for many months,” London police spokesperson Const. Sandasha Bough said.
London police officers attended the rally Sunday and determined the number of people in the crowd exceeded the limit for outdoor gatherings, which is set at 25, police said. Police estimate about 200 people attended the rally.
Similar rallies have been held this fall in communities across Ontario, and in Southwestern Ontario particularly, to protest COVID-19 restrictions.
But unlike recent rallies in Woodstock, St. Thomas and Aylmer, charges followed relatively swiftly after the London event.
“Gathering limits have changed and we have reminded the public a number of times,” Bough said.
The London women are not the first to be charged in the province for organizing rallies. Hamilton police have laid charges twice for demonstrations there, Bough said.
London police do not identify people charged with provincial offences, but one of the organizers said she is a nurse at the London Health Sciences Centre.
The current cap on outdoor gatherings is 25 people, while indoor gatherings are capped at 10. Since the weekend, London police also have laid charges relating to house parties early Sunday and Saturday night.
The protesters object to restrictions such as mandatory masks and limits on gatherings because of what they see as government encroachment into the lives of private citizens.
The largest protest so far was in Aylmer, where an estimated 2,000 people turned out Nov. 7, despite the town’s mayor declaring a state of emergency.
A rally in St. Thomas on Nov. 14 attracted a crowd of about 200 and a protest in Woodstock on Nov. 15 drew about 75 people.
So far, no charges have come out of those protests.
“We cannot comment on the event as we were not part of the organizing team,” a spokesperson for The Line Canada, an anti-restriction group involved in promoting some rallies, said Wednesday.
The three women have a court date of Feb. 22 in provincial court.
