The People‘s Party of Canada rally at the Saskatoon Inn on Sept. 20, 2021. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

By CKOM News

No tickets issued ‘yet’ following PPC election rally

Sep 21, 2021 | 5:24 PM

No tickets were issued under the provincial public health order following Monday evening’s People’s Party of Canada (PPC) election rally at the Saskatoon Inn.

The rally has drawn attention from people across the country for gathering hundreds of people, many of whom weren’t wearing masks indoors — a policy of both the hotel and the province — for hours Monday.

Saskatoon police said no tickets were issued “yet.”

“We are currently investigating activity at the rally and will be in consultation with public health inspectors with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency,” a spokesperson said.

In the past, participants of “freedom” rallies and other gatherings flouting public health measures were issued tickets several days after the event.

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The Saskatoon Inn has yet to respond to an interview request about the rally.

The PPC also had an outdoor stage set up across the street from the hotel at the former site of Larkhaven Park as a suspected reaction to the Saskatchewan government requiring indoor masking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 last week.

In an email, a City of Saskatoon spokesperson said the parcel of land was “was rezoned in the fall of 2018 and is no longer designated a park.”

“However, the City still owns it. While the City has not had any application to use this land, City officials are aware of this gathering and will be following up with organizers,” the email read.

Monday’s maskless gathering comes after a weekend where Saskatchewan registered more than 1,000 new daily COVID-19 cases and an additional 519 cases on Monday.

On Tuesday, Ontario — a province with a population more than 12 times that of Saskatchewan’s according to the latest census — registered 574 new cases.

Last week, the Saskatchewan Health Authority activated “a second phase of surge plans” to help ease the strain on the province’s hospitals caused by rising COVID cases. That will include a temporary slowdown of elective procedures.

Further plans are being made to increase hospital and ICU capacity for COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Alex Wong, an infectious disease associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan, took to Twitter earlier Monday to illustrate how overwhelmed the health-care system is by the province’s record case counts.

According to Wong, all ICUs in Saskatchewan are full and surge beds are being used to help anyone needed urgent care. The Pediatric ICU in Saskatoon is also accepting multiple adult patients while short-staffed.