Today, I am visiting Char’s Railway Cafe in Smith, Alberta as part of my ongoing anti-hunger strike in support of the rebellion against the lockdown on dine-in service. I've been in my Jeep for the last week, crisscrossing Alberta, eating at and telling the stories of brave restaurant owners who are making a stand for economic survival.

Over 40 restaurants in Alberta went rogue and defied the shutdown orders over the last two weeks, beginning with Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, owned by Chris Scott. In response to the rebellion, the UCP government announced restrictions on dining rooms are now being lifted on February 8.

Charlette Flemming owns Char’s Railway Cafe and she reached out to us at our special website: www.iWillOpen.com. It’s a portal for civilly disobedient businesses planning to re-open against the lockdown orders to invite Rebel News to tell their stories.

Char’s business has been hard hit by the downturn in oil and gas, and the pandemic is ruining what’s left, so she decided to re-open her dining room to customers and defy the lockdown.

She’s got the support of her staff and her community, and she is standing strong in the face of Alberta Health Services' threats to shut her down.

I told Char that if she receives a ticket for being open for survival, Rebel News will help her fight her ticket in court at no cost to her through our other portal, www.FightTheFines.com.