A Quebec judge upheld a $1,000 fine to Ste-Catherine-de-Hatley, QC, office manager William Murphy for breaking a COVID-19 curfew by driving alone in his car at night, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. .“The nightly trip to the office was more convenient than it was necessary,” said Quebec Provincial Court Judge Tanya Larocque in a ruling. .Larocque ordered Murphy to pay the fine and court costs. Quebec had some of the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. .Murphy was pulled over by police in 2021. He testified he was called into his office by an accountant who complained the computer system was malfunctioning..“I don’t know why I didn’t tell the accountant it could have waited until the next day,” said Murphy. .Quebec police were enforcing a curfew banning non-essential outdoor travel between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. .Murphy spent an evening rebooting the company’s computer system and headed home during the curfew. He took the off-ramp of the highway on his way home, but he discovered he left his briefcase containing his house keys. .“Mr. Murphy doubled back on the highway to go back to the office, then realized he didn’t have the keys to the office which were in the same briefcase,” said Larocque. .“He doubled back home and was intercepted by the police.” .He said he had not slept in three days. Quebec was the only jurisdiction to enforce a province-wide curfew under threat of a maximum fine of $6,000. .Quebec went further by announcing in January it planned to tax unvaccinated people. .READ MORE: Tabarnaxxed! Quebec to tax those who refuse the jab.Quebec Premier Francois Legault unveiled the plan after he blamed unvaccinated people for a large increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations..“I sense the frustration from Quebecers towards that minority that is clogging our hospitals,” said Legault.
