Last night, province-wide protests took place in 32 cities in reaction to the Quebec government’s curfew that came into effect at 8 p.m.
According to Jean-Pierre Brabant, Media Relations officer for the SPVM, 17 people in Montreal were given fines for staying out after the protest, which violated curfew hours. He informed us that citizens are allowed to gather for protests, but not after 8 p.m.
Officer Brabant explained that the demonstration began at 7:30 p.m. at the Mont-Royal metro station, with about 50 people in attendance.
After 8:00 p.m., some demonstrators continued to walk around, which led to the 17 tickets being handed out. Brabant went on to say that no arrests were made and there were no injuries.
“The majority of people left at 8:00 to go back home, but some wanted to stay to continue to protest. Because of the curfew, we had to intervene,” said the officer.
By around 9:30 p.m., people left and were able to go back home, said Officer Brabant.
As for the protest itself, the officer said that it was very peaceful. The SPVM was aware of the event from social media posts and event pages, and were able to monitor the protest.
No official numbers for the number of tickets written on the first night of curfew in the city have been released yet. Official stats are expected in the coming days.