The leader of a fringe political party in Canada has been found guilty of violating public health orders in Saskatchewan.
Maxime Bernier, a former MP and current leader of the People’s Party of Canada, held a rally in Saskatoon in May of 2021 as part of his “Mad Max Saskatchewan Tour.”
At the time, the COVID-19 pandemic was still underway, and a public health order in the province limited gatherings to a maximum of 10 attendees.
More than 40 people ended up with fines after the rally.
In a decision issued last week, which followed a trial held last year, Judge Quentin Douglas Agnew found all but seven of them guilty, including Bernier.
The maximum fines for violating public health orders in the province are $7,500 for individuals and $100,000 for corporations. The fines previously sat at $2,000 for individuals and $10,000 for corporations, but were hiked in December of 2020 during the pandemic.
Despite the unlawfully large rally in Saskatoon and another 2021 rally in Regina that saw Bernier handed a ticket for violating a health order, his party failed to win a single seat in the 2021 election.
– With files from The Canadian Press