Prince George business owner Linda Allen decided to stick to her principles of not discriminating against patrons of her nightclub the Lambda Cabaret.

The Lambda Cabaret has long been an inclusive and safe place for anyone and is a popular and welcoming venue within the local LGBTQ community. So when Chief Medical Officer Bonnie Henry and the Horgan government enacted mandates requiring a vaccine passport to enter nightclubs in BC, Allen could not understand why she would have to start discriminating now against someone who is not vaccinated. “No way!” says Allen, “Discrimination is wrong no matter how it’s applied and it also would be breaking the law. This establishment has never, and will never discriminate on anyone wishing to enter the premises.”

In 2020 when the first Covid-19 restrictions came in for businesses, Allen decided to close and play it safe as she did not know how serious the pandemic was. After four months, she opened for a couple weekends but then Henry ordered no dancing so Allen closed again.

In July 2021 Henry announced clubs could re-open, but still no dancing allowed. Allen re-opened the nightclub but roped off the dance floor and put tables on the dance floor to try to keep the patrons from dancing. “Does one not wonder why allow the club to open and then tell them not to allow dancing? You can sit at a table, crowd in line to buy a drink, but can’t dance, really?” says Allen.

Allen stayed open with no issues until September 13, 2021 when the BC Vaccine Card came in to place. By the end of September the Liquor Inspector issued two $2,300 fines and said she must close if she wasn’t going to follow the mandates. She asked what the fines were for and the Liquor Inspector had to look up to find what mandates she was breaking for that particular week. Allen states she never once broke any Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch laws.

So she closed again hoping she would get some compensation from the Federal or Provincial government. Throughout October, November, and December Allen with help from her bookkeeper contacted the BC Government asking about help for small business. Then on December 23 the Government announced funding for small business depending on the amount of staff they had as of that date. Well Allen had no staff because she had been ordered closed since the end of September.

In February 2022 the BC Government offered some more money to small business and Allen once again applied. But the reply from the BC Government was that since she was open in February, she wasn’t entitled to any money.

Facing bankruptcy, Allen was left to believe that her governments were trying to destroy all small business by their many Covid-19 measures that violated her Constitutional right to operate her business. She felt bereft and at a loss of what to do. Not only had notices of fines been delivered to her business, Linda had notices delivered to her gated residence which made her feel terribly vulnerable and fearful for her personal safety.

Then truckers headed to Ottawa in the Freedom Convoy to protest mandates and Brian Peckford — the last living creator of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — spoke in Ottawa and said, “We are not breaking the law, they are!” This showed Allen that she was not the only Canadian feeling under attack by their government, so she decided to re-open again with renewed courage and the spirit of standing for her rights and freedoms.

The Lambda Cabaret then opened every Friday and Saturday with no enforcement of government Covid mandates. Allen had many patrons thank her and share that they had been depressed and even suicidal from almost two years with very little to do in town. With the media and health authorities constant droning to the public to exercise caution, practice social distancing, and avoid others if possible, it made a person feel ashamed for even wanting to see others.

The mental health of many had declined due to the Public Health policies and measures forced onto people that was especially hard on the young and older populations. Allen believes she was helping the mental health status of a large number of young adults in the city with allowing all of them access to her nightclub.

“Do we not constantly hear about mental health from the local politicians like MP Todd Doherty, First Nations and Public Health Authority? Doesn’t the well being and mental health matter for all people not just the vaccinated?” said Allen.

Small businesses clearly were hurt the worst from Covid measures, and restaurants and nightclubs even more. Vaccine passport requirement was only mandated at certain establishments targeting restaurants, nightclubs, and gyms. Allen had been closed a total of 17 months and bills were piling up.

Allen served a Notice of Liability to Northern Health on February 21, over the issue of Government interference in business operations by attempting to enforce compliance to unlawful health orders which are in violation of the Charter of Rights, the Canadian Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Canadian Criminal Code, and the National and International Agreements on Human Rights.

But on February 25, Northern Health once again issued a closure order to the Lambda Cabaret for not following the mandates from the previous Friday and Saturday nights. The BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch issued another suspension order although Lambda never broke any Liquor laws.

Then Worksafe BC did an inspection on the Friday when the bar was not open leaving Allen to wonder if that was proper protocol.

On March 1, Northern Health served notice for Allen to appear at a hearing at the BC Supreme Court on a zoom court March 11..Allen decided to close the nightclub that coming weekend but on Friday a group of concerned Prince George citizens gathered in front of her business to show support for her battle with the health authorities.

The very next day two supporters helped Allen comb through 500 pages of alleged mandate violations. They drafted up a legal notice of intent to pursue legal action against Northern Health Medical Health Officer Raina Fumerton and BC Public Health Officer Bonnie Henry. The legal notice was sent that week to each of them.

Worried about not having any legal counsel, Allen was planning to ask the court for an adjournment until she found a lawyer. Then, through connections across Canada with freedom-minded people, she acquired the legal representation she needed, Saron Gebresellassi, Trial Lawyer.

At the zoom hearing the BC Supreme Court Justice ordered her to stay closed until April 8, when all mandates will be lifted and no fine was issued. She was only ordered to pay the court costs of $3,500. Allen was very pleased with the Justice’s ruling because she was not convicted of breaking any laws or Public Health Orders.

“The government’s unelected health professionals launched a full-frontal offensive seeking to permanently shut down this cherished enterprise in the heart of British Columbia. Through impeccable organization, our team successfully thwarted and foiled the onslaught,” said Trial Lawyer Saron Gebresellassi.

The government’s documents seek to govern the full range of the human experience from singing to management of the enterprise. One wonders what remaining emergency justification exists for this.

— Saron Gebresellassi, Trial Lawyer

“The events in Prince George captivated the attention of many because it’s viewed as another example of the declining state of freedoms in Canada,” said Trial Lawyer Saron Gebresellassi.

“This is Canada,” says Allen, “We live free here and that should never change!”

M. Smith | Staff Writer | PG Real News