The Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, AB.

By Sheldon Spackman

before the courts

Central Alberta café owner calling for consultation, transparency regarding restrictions

Feb 4, 2021 | 6:21 PM

The owner of the Whistle Stop Café in Mirror says the easing of restaurant restrictions, set to take place in Alberta next week, won’t change much for his business come Monday.

Chris Scott says he will continue to offer dine-in service to his customers despite the Alberta Health regulations mandating that all restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges, and cafés be closed to in-person service as of Dec. 13, 2020.

The café, convenience store and gas station, located about 66 kilometres northeast of Red Deer, has been open for dine-in services since Jan. 22 – the day after the province announced that December’s restrictions would continue for an undetermined amount of time.

Scott acknowledges, however, that the violation landed him a court date in Red Deer on Wednesday.

“Alberta Health Services filed an application with the court to enforce their order for me to close my dine-in services,” he explains. “So what happened was the court heard the argument, they read the application and my lawyer presented my case and my objections. In the end, the court did not rule either way on AHS’ application, so they neither approved or denied it. They said there’s more information needed.”

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Scott’s case returns to court Feb. 28.

In the meantime, Step 1 of Alberta’s Path Forward will see numerous restrictions ease and come into effect on Feb. 8.

That will allow restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges, and cafés to open for in-person service with restrictions in place. Those restrictions include a maximum of six people per table – individuals must be from the same household or the two close contacts for a person living alone. Tables/dining parties must be two metres apart, contact information must be collected from one person of the dining party or the individual if they are dining alone, and liquor service ends at 10 p.m. In addition, in-person dining must close by 11 p.m., with no entertainment allowed, such as VLTs, pool tables, or live music, etc.

Other restriction changes pertaining to children’s sports and performance activities, as well as indoor fitness will also begin on Feb. 8.

Scott says his concern, however, is that there has been no consultation with industry when it comes to making changes.

“All they’re doing is giving us back something we should have had in the first place,” he exclaims. “The restrictions don’t make any sense at all.”

“Where is the data that backs up saying, ‘You can’t serve liquor after 10 p.m. because it’s too high of a risk?’” asks Scott. “There is no data to support any of these restrictions. We’ve asked for it, but they can’t provide it.

“Yet they’re still acting as if they have mountains of evidence that’s giving them the right to impose restrictions that are still going to hurt business,” he remarks. “They’re making us think that they’re doing something for us that’s continuing to hurt Albertans, with no consultation. That’s my problem.”

A spokesperson for AHS says they are aware that some Albertans – and some businesses and organizations – are actively disobeying public health measures despite mandatory province-wide restrictions that remain in place.

“The Public Health Act empowers AHS to order compliance when necessary,” says Heather Kipling, Communications Director for AHS Central Zone, in a statement to rdnewsNOW. “Environmental Public Health inspectors can issue Executive Officer Orders, and if those do not result in action, AHS can make an application to the Court of Queen’s Bench that can result in penalties. This is only done as a last resort after we’ve exhausted all efforts to work collaboratively with owners/operators.”

Kipling adds that together with RCMP, AHS continues to monitor businesses for compliance with the orders mandated by Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.

“Those that continue to violate orders may face additional penalties and legal action, which will be levied at the discretion of the courts. AHS does not control the types or scale of potential penalties levied.”

Kipling says that from March 2020 to February 4, 2021, EPH has received 60,596 COVID-19 related complaints province-wide.

“Of those, 6,441 are in Central Zone. Twenty-one COVID-19 related orders have been issued in the Central Zone.”

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