“It's illegal to remove a bandage in public in Canada”
LIKELY MYTH! Despite various sources claiming this (including a York Regional Police tweet from 2014), no one has been able to locate the actual statute or bylaw.
Various sources, including a York Regional Police tweet from 2014, claim it's illegal to remove bandages in public places in Canada/Ontario. Despite extensive searching, no one has been able to locate the actual statute or bylaw that prohibits this. York Regional Police tweeted about it but provided no citation. This has the hallmarks of a viral "weird law" that gets repeated without verification.
Where the story gets it wrong
Many sources repeat this claim as settled law, but no specific Criminal Code section or municipal bylaw has ever been cited to support it. The claim gained traction from a York Regional Police tweet, but no enforceable statute has been found.
No specific statute has been identified in the Canadian Criminal Code or any provincial legislation that explicitly prohibits removing a bandage in public. The claim originates from a York Regional Police social media campaign (#obscurecdnlaws) that listed this as an obscure Canadian law, but no official legal citation has been verified.
- Current status
- Unknown