Brandon business fined for breaking health orders

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This article was published 02/02/2022 (1440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon business has been fined $5,000 for defying mask mandates in support of a trucker convoy camped out on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Natural health and organic foods store Two Farm Kids briefly had a sign posted on its front door last weekend encouraging people to drop their masks on Jan. 29 in support of the convoy, which is calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. The sign prompted the public to “drop off their masks at city hall, burn them in a barrel, stand with the truckers who are standing up for all of us.”

The sign was removed by Saturday night, said co-owner Sylvia Ubell, but the business did receive a notice and a ticket for “failing to comply with an emergency health hazard order, namely COVID-19 prevention order” on Feb. 1.

This was about freedom of choice, said Ubell, who owns the store with her husband, Greg.

She said she has always believed pandemic health orders have been government overreach and decided to take a stand in solidarity with the truckers, saying everyone else can do the same. Emails and comments from people coming into the store prove she is not alone, Ubell said.

“I and the staff have been keeping track of emails we have been getting, and I’d say about 80 per cent [are] positive and 20 per cent [are] negative,” she said. “Our customer base has been coming in and asking questions. Some have said they are unhappy and never coming in again. All I ask my staff to do is say we hope they change their minds. Most, though, have congratulated us and said they are shopping here more.”

About 75 per cent of the people who shop at Two Farm Kids come from a similar background to her, she said; they grew up in a rural setting, are self-sufficient, grow their own food and look after their health. They are open-minded and very health-oriented. They know what they need to do to stay healthy and resent having an outside entity like the government tell them they need to take drugs or feel forced to take a vaccine.

“I’ve been health-oriented my entire life, that is why I have this business with my husband,” she said. “I’m being realistic. We can’t restrict society forever like this. People talk to me and they wanted to comply, but their intuition said there is something about these restrictions that aren’t right.”

She did acknowledge there are people who can’t control their health, and that is unfortunate, but the majority shouldn’t be restricted for this long because of that. If the government really wanted to protect people’s health, they could have invested more money in the health-care system, Ubell said.

She doubts she is going to pay the fine, adding she is considering legal action.

The province regularly receives tips about non-compliance with public health orders through the COVID tip line, a government spokesperson said. All credible reports are followed-up on. More than 3,000 enforcement officials regularly inspect businesses throughout the province to educate them about the current public health orders and ensure compliance. Most are doing their part to help protect Manitobans from the spread of COVID-19, the spokesperson said, but in some cases, further action is required.

The last week in January saw an increase in tickets being issued for failing to follow pandemic measures. Twenty-four warnings and 41 tickets were issued between Jan. 24-28 and 34 warnings and 37 tickets were issued the week prior, Jan. 17-23.

Premier Heather Stefanson said Wednesday she understands there is “COVID fatigue” and there has been stronger enforcement, but the focus has been mostly on warnings than fines. Most people have been following the rules and the restrictions are there to protect the health-care system from becoming overwhelmed, she said.

On health-care investment, Stefanson said there have been financial and staffing supports in place since the start of the pandemic. The Council of the Federation is meeting Friday to talk about the Canada Health Transfer, which provides long-term predictable funding for health care to provinces and territories.

“[The federal government has] to work with us on this. It isn’t something the provinces and territories can shoulder alone,” Stefanson said. “We are all in this together and we have to ensure we work together on this.”

Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Barry Cooper said he is aware of Two Farm Kids’ actions but the vast majority of businesses in the city are in compliance with provincial health orders.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

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