Troy Shantz
One local business was charged and others issued warnings today after defying Ontario’s COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by staying open.
Bill Van Hoogenhuize, the owner of Sharky’s Athletic Club, confirmed he was ticketed for defying an order to close under the “grey-lockdown” status Sarnia-Lambton entered today.
“I’m going to fight it. That’s my second fine,” Van Hoogenhuize told The Journal. “It’s totally unlawful all the way around. That’s why we’re fighting it.”
A video posted on Sharky’s Instagram account showed uniformed Sarnia Police and bylaw enforcement officers stepping over an internal barrier to enter the premises.
Sharky’s was one of several business operators that said over the weekend they were fed up with government overreach and intended to stay open because they can’t survive a third shutdown in a year.
GoFundMe accounts have been launched to help some of them pay for the expected fines.
The resistance prompted Sarnia and Lambton Public Health to each release statements acknowledging the business pushback but urging residents to comply with safety protocols.
“It’s always a very difficult decision to move forward with a lockdown but the immediate health risks imposed with increased COVID-19 transmission are still a priority,” said Dr. Sudit Ranade, Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health.
The “most alarming” problem, he added, is the ‘Variants of Concern’ now circulating that spread rapidly and can overwhelm the health system if community transmission isn’t controlled.
The owner of Corunna Fitness Centre was visited by police and issued a warning Monday.
Ron Theriault said his Hill Street gym lost $90,000 last year and he hasn’t paid himself a wage in months. For his business to survive he has no choice but to defy the closure order, he said.
“I’m not going to pay fines. I’m going to fight fines.”
Theriault said government support programs aren’t enough to sustain a business when they can’t serve their customers.
“It’s either (that or) close my doors permanently and sell off my pieces of equipment,” he said. “It’s a hell of a thing to come to realize, for reasons that I don’t believe are correct.”
Scott Burnett, owner of Sarnia Super Ninja Obstacle Course Racing Club, has organized a 1,300-member Facebook group of local business owners and supporters united against lockdowns.
Local businesses have demonstrated they are responsible and can operate safely, said Burnett, who intends to keep his children’s and youth recreation centre running this week.
His facility enforces strict health guidelines to ensure his customers are safe, and nearly all of them support the decision, he said.
“How do we survive? The course of my life has changed. I will be impacted until the day I die,” said Burnett, who has borrowed the equivalent of a “second mortgage” to keep his business afloat.
“We are trying to provide a service to the community. What happens if we all go bankrupt?”
Businesses owners that defy the lockdown order can be fined $880, and the business $1,255. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $100,000 for an individual and up to $10,000,000 for a corporation.
“It is very important to remember that individuals who choose to attend businesses in violation of the lockdown requirements are also subject to an $880 fine,” said Adam McDonald, Sarnia’s manager of bylaw enforcement.
Sarnia Police Const. John Sottosanti confirmed the video posted by Sharky’s showed four uniformed officers and two bylaw enforcement officers.
“We stood by to make sure nothing went sideways. That’s our job,” he said.
McDonald said police accompany bylaw enforcement if the complaint is severe or there are prior complaints about the same location.
Van Hoogenhuize says his staff was “intimidated” by the encounter.
“Someone’s got to step up,” he said. “I don’t want to live in a world that’s a second communist China.”
