More than 160 tickets issued at Hamilton waterfalls over long weekend

More than 200 tickets were handed out in Hamilton over the long weekend - but just a fraction were pandemic-related.

The vast majority of tickets came at Hamilton-area waterfalls, where a whopping 162 offence notices were issued, according to figures provided by the city's licensing and bylaw division.

Paul Johnson, director of the city's pandemic response, said at a COVID-19 press briefing Tuesday that the offences had to do with people not following the rules" and entering restricted, closed-off areas at or near waterfalls.

If you are in areas you're not supposed to be or doing things at the falls you're not supposed to be (doing), it's not an education piece - it's a charge," said Johnson.

And that's because it's very dangerous, and doubly dangerous for our first responders, particularly fire, who have to do high-angle rope rescues on occasion to remove people from the falls."

The city could not immediately specify which waterfall saw the bulk of penalties.

Last month, The Spectator reported that a recent surge of interest in waterfalls has spurred more fall injuries and rescues during the pandemic.

In 2020, firefighters responded to 16 rope rescue calls - up from nine the previous year - with many of them at or near hot spot waterfall areas like Spencer Gorge in Dundas and the Devil's Punchbowl in Stoney Creek.

Johnson said other fines issued over the weekend stemmed from COVID-related infractions, like large birthday parties and protests.

Twenty-four tickets were handed out due to violations of the Reopening Ontario Act, according to city bylaw, while seven tickets were issued in relation to physical distancing.

The current cap for outdoor gatherings in Ontario is limited to five people.

These are folks who took what was supposed to be a good news piece around gathering with a small number of people, and decided, Well, numbers don't matter,'" said Johnson.

Johnson urged the public to respect the rules" and enjoy the chance to gather in small number, but please don't push that envelope because we want to ensure we can continue in the right direction."

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com