Peel police to commence ‘party blitz,’ ticketing gatherings that break social distancing rules

According to a police spokesperson being interviewed on an FM radio station in the area, they "will be doing a blitz during this long weekend region-wide." focusing on potentially unauthorized house parties, however small. This is while all crime, including violent crime, is on the rise throughout the region.

Some people applaud the police’s actions, claiming the party is a nuisance. Others wonder why these measures are in place now instead of months ago when they would have been more useful.

The tickets during this coming "blitz" will be given out to host and attendees alike, and will be for an eye-popping $880. Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown seems to be happy with the fine, saying "I have no problem with how big the fine is... these idiots deserve it."

He went on to talk about how additional officers will be working this coming long weekend, to be on the lookout for potential house parties, especially in Brampton and the surrounding areas. The normal RIDE program and the anti-street racing team will also be out in full force, as they would on any normal weekend.

There are two main concerns on the other side of the issue. Many feel that the Brampton city government is doing this more as a cash grab than as a valid preventative measure, and that they are trying to fill massive financial holes much more than actually being concerned about public health.

The other worry is that they said they are going after “big parties” but nobody knows what the actual rules are, as they have never been clearly defined. If a family member drops by with some food, and you’re having a coffee and laugh at each other’s jokes, is this technically a house party now?

Without better definitions, and with the high price of these tickets, many of these summonses could wind up successfully being challenged in court, wasting everybody’s time and further tying up an already saturated court system.

Naturally, parties that disturb the peace or that turn violent can should and always have been targeted for police actions, and almost everybody would agree this is still needed. Hopefully, the Peel Police will act with some measure of discernment over the long weekend, and not wind up bursting in on overly loud board game nights.