For those attending the Million Maskless March this Saturday, April 10, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who might be seeking an inspirational pep talk before the massive mask-burning event, check out this protest video out of Vancouver, British Columbia, that went viral on Wednesday, capturing diners in Corduroy Lounge chanting “Get out! Get out!” as health inspectors attempt to shut the small business down for allegedly violating COVID-19 health regulations.
Corduroy Lounge in Kitsilano, British Columbia, remains open, despite a ban on indoor dining in the area.
Proprietor Rebecca Matthews says she received a City of Vancouver COVID health “closure order” on the evening of Saturday, April 3: “It’s a closure order that says we have to close immediately.… We didn’t.”
In the video, Matthews, a mother of four, can be seen with a small child strapped to her chest, as health inspectors serve her what appear to be official documents. She asks them if they read the sign on the door that says no trespassing. Do they know they are trespassing? The man serving the papers says he disagrees with her, continuing to serve her more documents.
Restaurant diners, many recording the scene with their phones, quickly rally behind Matthews, taunting the health inspectors and chanting “get out, get out,” forcing the group to vacate the premises.
In a statement to B.C.’s CityNews on Sunday, Matthews said, “I’m a mom of four who relies on my business to live. Patios are full of people, B.C. Ferries and Airport restaurants are serving indoor dining; therefore, it doesn’t make sense to unfairly target certain businesses.”
Matthews’s point might also extend to big-box companies, such as Costco and major grocery chains, that have been allowed to operate fully during shutdowns, while brick-and-mortar shops have been barred from reopening, despite a blatant lack of science backing such excessive ordinances.
Corduroy was closed on Sunday and Monday in observance of the Easter holiday, but Matthews vowed to reopen her business on Tuesday, April 6.
“The next steps that are going to happen if we decide to stay open is a court injunction … but we’ve got legal aid on our side so we are just following their advice and taking it day by day,” she said.
In response to the business owner’s brazen behavior, having received multiple complaints from Corduroy’s neighbors, the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association offered a statement “urging the immediate closure, fining, and business license revocation of any business who elects to defy health orders.”
On Sunday, B.C. Health Administrator Adrian Dix told CityNews that he was “frustrated at the behavior here. Indoor dining is not allowed right now in British Columbia, and I don’t think that when people choose not to follow those rules, even when a public health inspector comes to enforce those rules, that’s not on the health inspector, but we’re enforcing them today.”
The health minister went on to say that overwhelmingly, “in the 99.9 percent of cases, businesses are following the rules very reluctantly because it has a huge impact on them. And I think our restaurants have done a really good job during the pandemic, and we have to support them through takeout.”
By acknowledging resistance from the community yet failing to supply any scientific basis for why the strict health measures are being implemented and targeting specific small businesses, the health minister seems outrageously out of touch with reality.
The Vancouver Coastal Health department appears to be intent on enforcing the closure and suspending Matthews’s business license, but she remains defiant. The New American will be following this story as it develops.
