Prince George’s Club 1177 — formerly Lambda Cabaret — remained open during a tumultuous spring of this year. Measures forced onto people to thwart the declared pandemic — amid the zealous charting of case counts — were especially hard on the young and also the older populations. Club owner Linda Allen saw that she was helping the mental health status of a large number of young adults in the city by allowing all of them access to her nightclub.
By that time, Allen had been closed a total of 17 months and bills were piling up. Small businesses clearly were hurt the worst from Covid measures. Then vaccine passport requirement were heaped on top of establishments who struggled to reopen targeting restaurants, nightclubs, and gyms.
When Allen heard the last living creator of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms Brian Peckford say, “We are not breaking the law, they are!” she understood that the reopening of her night club was an important stand not just for her community, but also for communities across Canada as well. With renewed courage and the spirit of standing for her rights and freedoms, Allen welcomed all patrons to her establishment and refused to discriminate based on a person’s medical information.
Allen braced herself for the ensuing fines. On one occasion she received $2,300 in fines but when she asked what the fines were for, the Liquor Inspector had to look up to find what mandates she was breaking for that particular week.
When that failed, Northern Health sent out WorkSafeBC but their inspection was on a Friday when the bar was not open. This left Allen to wonder if that was proper protocol.
Taking action to defend herself, 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.
A total of eight charges were brought against Allen from public health officers and her court dates were set for November 23 and 24. The day before proceedings started, Allen was offered a chance to pay reduced fines, but she said, “I have done nothing wrong.”
Trial lawyer Saron Gebresellassi had success in court in Prince George following two days of trials. Allen had a decisive win in court against the eight separate prosecutions against her local business under the COVID-19 Public Health Orders. They were found not guilty in four of the cases, and in the remaining four cases the public health prosecutors “surrendered” without giving evidence. These are precedent-setting cases for future prosecutions under the BC Public Health Act.
The courtroom was packed as Canadians travelled to Prince George, BC, from across Canada to observe these trials. This case has captivated the imagination of the public and the media for the past nine months.
“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!”
Photo: Club 1177 owner Linda Allen stands in front of a wall of framed “NOT GUILTY” forms.
N. Smith | Staff Writer | PG Real News