Date: November 17, 2020
File: 20-26108
Saanich Police have issued a ticket to a homeowner who was hosting a poker party with more than six guests inside their residence this past weekend.
On Saturday November 14, 2020 at approximately 10:00 a.m. officers attended a home in the Broadmead area of Saanich to investigate reports of several people gathering at the residence that were suspected of not living there. When officers attended, they observed seven people sitting around a table playing poker in the garage. When they spoke to the homeowner, it was discovered that none of the seven guests, including three additional people inside the residence, lived there.
All of the ten guests left and the homeowner was issued a violation ticket under the Covid-19 Related Measures Act for $2,300 in contravention of the Gathering and Events Order related to holding an event at a private residence with more than 6 guests who do not live there.
This was not the first time officers had attended this home to investigate contraventions of Provincial Health Orders. At the end of October police attended the home for a similar report and provided education and a verbal warning on the orders that were in place at that time.
“We will continue to investigate reports related to the Provincial Health Orders currently in place and we hope that incidents such as this create community awareness and encourage compliance of the measures the province has put in place to keep us safe.”
Cst. Markus Anastasiades
Public Information and Communications Officer