Coquitlam bylaw enforcement officials will be on the lookout for anyone trying to profit from unauthorized sales of medical supplies and other essentials.
Anyone found to be contravening the city’s business licence regulations could face up to $500 in fines.
“The city is cracking down on those who are cashing in on the COVID-19 pandemic by selling medical, cleaning and other hard-to-find supplies from their home, vehicle or roadside without a business licence,” the city said in a press release this week.
So far, no one has been caught breaking the rules and city staff said the enforcement measures were being implemented proactively.
Face masks, gloves and sanitizer are just some of the supplies that have been difficult to come by since the global pandemic began. Governments have been urging people not to hoard essentials so that they can be used by health care professionals on the frontlines of the crisis.
Thursday, Public Safety and Solicitor General and Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth said the province was banning the secondary resale of food, medical supplies and personal protective equipment. Using the powers under a provincial state of emergency, he added municipal bylaw officers would also have the power to enforce provincial health officer orders for business closures and public gatherings.
Coquitlam’s crackdown comes a week after two people were ticketed in Port Coquitlam when they were allegedly found selling medical masks at McLean Park. The two are facing the maximum $500 fine for operating an unauthorized business in a park and operating a business without a licence.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said at the time that the RCMP had been notified of the incident, adding that B.C.’s minister of health recently told reporters there would be consequences for people caught reselling medical supplies.
“We are out there telling our entire community… that we all have to come together to stop the spread of this virus,” West said earlier this week. “To have some people try and profit off a global pandemic, to try and profit off the most significant health crisis we have ever faced, is just wrong.”
Bylaw enforcement officers said they would be investigating complaints received from the public.
REPORT UNAUTHORIZED SELLING
• Coquitlam: call 604-927-7387 or email bylawenforcement@coquitlam.ca.
• Port Coquitlam: call 604-927-5440 or email bylawservices@portcoquitlam.ca
• Port Moody: call 604-469-4541.
