The province has announced new measures to target price gougerscharging inflated prices for personal protection equipment and other essential goods needed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said B.C. will step up enforcement of orders to punish those who try to take advantage of shortages of medical equipment and has given municipalities and regional districts new authority to hand out $2,000 fines to people selling goods illegally.
“There are always those who seek to take advantage of people’s fears and those who prey on the collective anxieties of our communities,” said Farnworth, a media conference Sunday morning in Victoria.
“We’ve been fielding complaints through partners at Consumer Protection BC of instances of price gouging for the things that we may require to stay healthy. For example, an elderly immune-compromised consumer paying 10 times the price for some N95 masks (and) business owners looking to purchase personal protective equipment for their work forces having to pay grossly inflated prices.”
The province has already received about 800 complaints about price gouging. Farnworth directed people to report further incidents to Consumer Protection BC, local bylaw enforcement officers or local police.
“I can assure you, we will not allow these practices to continue,” Farnworth said. “We need to work together to keep society running.
“These measures will provide enforcement officers and police agencies the ability to enforce the law on these criminal acts and despicable practices, like the reselling of medical supplies and price gouging.”
The province is calling on police forces and enforcement staff from local governments and provincial ministries to support the crackdown and issue tickets to people they find who try to profit by charging outrageous prices for essential medical supplies. That authority now extends to municipal bylaw officers, liquor and cannabis inspectors, gaming inspectors, conservation officers, park rangers, natural resource officers, community safety officers, commercial vehicle safety officials and sheriffs.
“These measures are in concert with the federal government’s April 14th announcement which allows local and provincial police forces to issue tickets to returning travelers who do not comply with the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days under the Federal Quarantine Act,” said Farnworth.
The province has no plans to issue fines to people now starting to take advantage of warmer spring weather and are gathering together in public places. In B.C., crowd sizes are limited to no more than 50 people, but the order which is in effect until May 30 does not specify fines for those who exceed that number. Alberta is limiting its crowd sizes to no more than 15 people and specifies a $1,000 fine for violators. B.C. government officials and police have issued more than 5,000 warnings to people not respecting social distancing orders but no fines, as other provinces have done.
“By and large, most people in British Columbia are following the directions when it comes to social distancing,” said Farnworth. “In many communities you’re seeing local officials out reminding people about this and you’re seeing it in the results that we have seen in the flattening of the curve in B.C. Any changes to the measures regarding social distancing will come from discussions with the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and right now most people are following it.
“We will continue to drive home the message that people must stand, unless they’re living with that individual, two metres or six feet apart.”
