The Bridges at Tillsonburg golf club located approximately 45 km southeast of London, Ont.
continues to defy provincial lockdown restrictions. Charged with two counts of failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act, the golf club faces a fine of up to $10-million if convicted. Representatives of the golf course have been asked to appear in court in Woodstock on June 3.
In addition, five golfers at the club were also charged with failing to comply with the act and could face a $750.00 fine.
The Bridges website states the club has implemented protocols to ensure golfers are able to play safely.
“We are excited to be open and the course is in fantastic condition,” the welcome message reads, and asks golfers to practice social distancing.
“The OPP is requesting that businesses and members of the public voluntarily comply with the government-mandated shutdown and the stay-at-home order,” the provincial police force said in a statement.
Emergency rules imposed by the Ontario government when Premier Doug Ford announced a new stay-at-home order last month — expected to be in place until at least May 20 — ban organized outdoor recreation, including golf and tennis, in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“The public-health measures we’ve introduced are designed to reduce mobility and limit the risk of transmission in order to stabilize and protect our health-care system,” read a statement from Alexandra Hilkene, a spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“As we continue to work to vaccinate Ontarians as quickly as supply allows, everyone should continue adhering to public-health measures and stay at home as much as possible.”
Golf Ontario along with the We Are Golf partners said “they have been in regular communication with the government over the last few days, weeks and months, consistently reminding them how safe the sport of golf is. We believe our voices are being heard, and with this in mind, communications were issued to the government to let them know we did not support this decision by the Bridges at Tillsonburg to open. This was issued to ensure that our efforts to get golf reopened were not compromised”.
