A Winnipeg restaurant owner fined under COVID-19 pandemic public health orders has had one of the tickets dismissed.

Judicial justice of the peace Weldon Klassen found the numbered company that ran Chaise Corydon, represented by owner Shea Ritchie, not guilty of failing to comply with a public health emergency order in provincial offences court Feb. 16.

The now-closed Corydon Avenue restaurant had been ticketed by Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba inspectors in the early hours of July 11, 2020, with a listed fine of $2,542. The authority had been tasked with helping enforce health orders then in effect.

The inspectors reported patrons at the bar on the main floor, shoulder-to-shoulder, buying drinks, while on the second floor, they saw a small number of people dancing near a DJ booth, court heard. On the second floor, there were two tables pushed to a side, while on the first floor no seating was set up.

The ticket said the business had violated two sections of the order in effect from June 26 to July 21, 2020.

Ritchie argued in court the health order at the time was too vague to establish the business had broken the sections. Klassen agreed.

The first section indicated an establishment could open if members of the public were required to generally stay in the area that had tables and seating, which were to be separated by two metres or areas that were generally open to the public.

“The wording is just too vague. ‘Members of the public are required to generally stay within the premises that have tables and seating.’ Technically, they were, there was two tables there,” Klassen told court while issuing his decision.

“They weren’t all seated, it doesn’t say that they had to (be).”

The second section dictated patrons were prohibited from using a dance floor at a licensed premises. Ritchie said in court the business did not have a dance floor.

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“This particular order didn’t say that dancing was prohibited or not permitted, it said that you can’t use any dance floor — so what do you do with a restaurant where there’s no dance floor? If the wording had said no dancing, must remain seated other than coming and going, going to the bathroom, this would be an easy case. But that’s not the case here,” Klassen said.

Ritchie said by phone Wednesday, if given the opportunity in court, he will dispute the other tickets — about 10, totalling around $60,000 in fines — he was issued during the height of the pandemic.

“They totally destroyed my business,” he said of provincial authorities, noting the Corydon Avenue location’s liquor licence was pulled after repeated tickets.

Ritchie’s other business, Chaise Café & Lounge on Provencher Boulevard, remains open.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice.

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