EDITORIAL: Police need to cool it
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Shocking video has been doing the rounds of police in Gatineau, Quebec, busting up a family gathering of six people on New Year’s Eve.
The event featured two older parents and two of their adult children, who were accompanied by their partners. A neighbour apparently called the police to rat them out.
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Two of them were arrested and all of them were fined. The video, like most such videos, does not tell the full story. But from what it does show, it appears the police response was excessive.
Did all of those cops who showed up have nothing better to do? Was there no real crime going on in Gatineau that evening?
We support many of the restrictions put in place to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 across Canada. What we do not support though is over-the-top enforcement of these rules.
Instead of outright criminalizing the deeply personal ritual of family holiday gatherings, public health officials should have offered recommendations on how to facilitate safe and responsible gatherings — such as isolating in advance and only inviting over low-risk persons.
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People go to great lengths in normal times to gather over the holidays, making elaborate travel arrangements and rearranging their work schedules. They could have maturely handled holiday gathering protocols.
We are deeply concerned about excessive enforcement of minor infractions. Take, for instance, the policing of mask laws.
We support indoor mask mandates. But the very officials implementing them describe masks as simply an added layer of protection.
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Should you wear one in a store? Yes. Is it the end of the world if one person in a store doesn’t? No.
Nobody needs to call the cops because one guy isn’t wearing a mask. If bylaw or police officers stumble upon someone without a mask, they should politely remind them that they really should be masked up or, at the most, issue them a fine.
Instead, there have been scenes of police dragging people out of stores for not wearing masks. That is not a proportionate response, and it’s not an appropriate use of taxpayer-funded police resources.
Politicians and public health officials need to get with the program. Police need to cool it.
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