Illumi opens to foot traffic despite not getting green light from Laval public health
Illumi, the popular Laval light show run by Cavalia, is now allowing people to walk through the three-kilometre site using a one-way path, provided they wear masks and disinfect their hands at the entrance.
But there's a problem: the public health department in Laval says it did not give Illumi the go-ahead to allow pedestrians on its grounds.
"Our public health department did not give authorization to the promoter of Illumi so they could restart their tours on foot," said Judith Goudreau, a spokesperson for the regional health authority of Laval.
In October and November, the site was only open to visitors in cars.
But as of Wednesday, pedestrians were allowed to walk through the site, according to an internal email obtained by Radio-Canada.
According to the email, 200 people are allowed in every half hour. For a walk that takes about an hour to complete, that translates to a maximum of 400 people on the path at any given time.
"This means 2,400 people on foot can visit each night," reads the email.
Cavalia's director of public relations, Eric Paquette, told Radio-Canada in an email "Illumi made the decision to open its outdoor pedestrian paths following numerous examples of outdoor activities which are operating."
Paquette cited the German Christmas market in Quebec City and the Luminothérapie public art exhibit in Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles.
It's worth noting, however, that those events received permission from public health officials to open.
Paquette said because Illumi is outside and people can keep their distance from others, "it's a safe outdoor experience during the pandemic."
Meanwhile the Quebec government has continued to deny requests to open Montreal's botanical gardens, which are closed because they are designated as a museum.
Despite a push from people who want to use the gardens as a place to walk while remaining at a two-metre distance, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé justified the closure by saying that he didn't want people gathering there or congregating around facilities like toilets.
