Fort Erie couple fined $750 alleges bylaw staff broke rules during visit to their driveway

A Fort Erie woman says local municipal bylaw staff should practice what they preach" when going around town issuing tickets to people in groups of five or more.

On Victoria Day weekend, Mike and Yasmine DiMora were in their driveway with their daughters, aged five and seven, enjoying the weather and decorating the driveway of their home near the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach border with chalk.

It was a normal afternoon and new neighbours who had just moved in were walking across the street to introduce themselves when Fort Erie bylaw officers pulled up. They issued a warning and told all six people, two of them small children, to break up the conversation.

On Sunday, the DiMoras and one of their daughters were out in the driveway when Mike's childhood friend, his wife, and two toddlers could be seen passing by on their bikes.

Their friends stopped for a quick chat and stayed near the end of the driveway with the kids in carriers on their bikes while the DiMoras stood near the vehicles parked closest to the house, the couple said in an interview Thursday.

Just as their cycling friends, who Mike says are like family" to him were about to leave, the same bylaw officer pulled up.

A heated discussion ensued as the officers did not appear to be offering any leniency and a $750 fine was given to their household on Ridge Road South.

The DiMoras and their friends asked the bylaw officers why they weren't wearing personal protective equipment.

One officer asked everyone for their identification, but all of them refused out of fear that he was not protected, as well not knowing how many other people he had been in contact with on his shift.

I didn't know how many other people he's given tickets already," said Yasmine on Thursday.

The situation escalated even more when the couple refused to take their fine in paper form from his hands, insisting he put it in the mailbox.

He came within a foot of all of us, all our faces," said Mike, explaining that additional fines for refusing the ticket were also threatened but not given.

Yasmine, as well as one their daughters, suffers from severe asthma. This was explained to the officer as a reason they did not want to touch the ticket.

He laughed at me," said Yasmine.

Mike also told him that he has been unemployed since March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and that he couldn't afford the ticket, which adds up to $880 with taxes.

The officer said he was sorry to hear that, but in a very sarcastic tone," Mike said, wondering why a farmers market in Stevensville down the road from his house on Wednesday can welcome dozens of people.

A few days later, Mike called town hall and left a voicemail asking to express his concerns to the superiors of the officer who gave them the ticket.

But John Bridgeman, the bylaw officer who issued the ticket, called back and more debate ensued - but nothing was resolved.

He called me back for some reason even though I asked to speak to his supervisor," said Mike, adding that his family is taking the pandemic very seriously.

They have gone to a grocery store twice since mid-March, sanitize all their food when they get home, and make special trips for curbside purchases in Niagara Falls that aren't available in Fort Erie.

Town of Fort Erie chief administrative officer Tom Kuchyt responded via email to an interview request regarding a fine being given locally.

He said this is a provincial order and once the ticket is issued it becomes a matter of the courts.

The papers have been filed with the court and it would be inappropriate for the Town to comment at this time," said Kuchyt.

He was then asked several questions about the specific allegations made by the local couple through a followup email, but he did not respond.

Niagara Dailies left a voicemail for Kuchyt at town hall, but it was not answered.

Asked whether municipal bylaw staff should be wearing protective gear in the field, Niagara Region Public Health spokeswoman Meredith Maxwell said advice for them is the same as anyone else.

Stay home if you're feeling unwell, use cough etiquette, wash your hands, maintain physical distance of two metres, and when that isn't possible, consider wearing a cloth mask for added protection," she said.

Andrew Korchok, a Niagara Region spokesman, said Friday that complaints were received May 24 and 25 through the Region's after-hours dispatch line about bylaw staff in Fort Erie.