83 students facing fines after Airbnb birthday party in Chelsea

Police in the Outaouais say they'll be fining 83 international students $1,000 each after an Airbnb house party in Chelsea, Que., on Saturday night.

MRC des Collinespolice got a call from neighbours about noise coming from the rental in the Tulip Valley neighbourhood on Saturday evening, Staff Sgt. Jose Forest told CBC News.

"When we arrived there, there was at least 80 to 200 persons in the house," she said, adding that the person who rented the home was not present.

People know what's going on. We're in the red zone.- Sgt. Martin Fournel, MRC des Collines police

"They were there for the birthday of one of the [people]."

Forest said the international students had IDs from various countries, while some had temporary addresses in Canada. She said it took officers about two hours to break up the party.

She said police are in the process of getting the fines approved by the courts, and the 83 students who were identified by policewill each be fined $1,000 under Quebec's Public Health Act.

She said the home appeared to be an Airbnbrental and MRC des Collines will be contacting the owner soon.

Students from Ottawa, Montreal, Trois-Rivires

"Some residents were saying they saw people running in the bush," said Sgt. Martin Fournel, explaining why only 83 are facing fines.

He added that the students came from colleges and universities in cities across Quebec and Ontario includingMontreal, Ottawa and Trois-Rivires,and said some were from the University of Ottawa. They will be receiving tickets in the mail in coming days, he said.

He noted the municipality is in a COVID-19 "red zone," meaning the area's on high alertwith tighter public health restrictions.

"People know what's going on. We're in the red zone. There's no reason that you can ignore [the law]."