Otterville couple’s fines for breaking quarantine rules hit $20K

An Otterville couple was hit with another big fine for breaking pandemic rules at the Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia, boosting their total penalties to $20,000.

Andrew Van’t Foort, 38, and Kelli Van’t Foort, 36, were ended up combined $10,000 last fall for failing to comply with an order under the Quarantine Act on Aug. 14, 2021.

Federal and provincial emergency legislation governing international travel from 2020 to 2022, during the COVID-19 crisis, regularly changed and are no longer in effect, but charges laid when the restrictions applied are still being prosecuted.

A trial for the charges laid against the Otterville couple was scheduled last December in Sarnia, but they didn’t show up in person or by video remote and had no legal representation that day. Under Ontario’s Provincial Offenses Act, a defendant is considered to not be disputing a charge when they fail to appear at their trial.

The mandatory fine when it’s not disputed is $5,000 for each conviction.

Meanwhile, the Van’t Foorts were supposed to be back in Sarnia’s provincial offenses court earlier this month amid allegations of breaking the same rules, this time on March 15, 2022. But when they were no-shows again, despite previously filing a notice of an intention to appear for their trials, justice of the peace Debra Isaac convicted them under the same legislation and imposed the same fines.

The court heard no details of either incident, since no trials were held.

In both cases, the couple was given 30 days to pay or make arrangements to reopen their cases if they had a reasonable excuse why they failed to show up at trial.

Kelli Van’t Foort hadn’t responded to a request for comment by Postmedia.

Last week, three other people – Nicquwon Brissett, Roopnarine Singh, and Mckeitha McFarlane – were convicted in Sarnia of the same charges in the same manner.

“I have no choice but to impose the set fine as it was for the legislation and that was $5,000,” justice of the peace Helen Gale said, adding people facing such charges should show up for their trials.

Three other people who were in court last Wednesday and pleaded guilty to the charges were only fined between $300 and $500.

However, as Gale speculated in one case involving a former Sarnia realtor whose fine have hit $22,000, some defendants may be taking a stand against the legislation by giving the court the silent treatment.

Last week in St. Thomas, a controversial pastor who emerged as one of the most vocal critics of pandemic public health restrictions pleaded guilty to a charge under the Ontario Reopening Act and was fined $52,000 plus a $13,000 victim surcharge.

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@ObserverTerry