FUNNY: Clueless bylaw visits Wyld Archery Pro Shop in Edmonton

By Sheila Gunn Reid
|
February 12, 2021

Fight The Fines

Reporting on and fighting the pandemic fines.

Our newest www.FightTheFines.com case is a familiar face: Justin Watson. He owns Wyld Archery Pro Shop & Lanes in Edmonton, and we first met him last week, when I saw his story on Facebook.

Justin was defying the lockdown restrictions on archery lanes and sports facilities by keeping his massive indoor location open for people wanting to keep their bow skills sharp over the winter, and get out of the house without freezing to death. According to the pandemic lockdown rules in place at the time, Justin could keep the retail side of his operation open — the much smaller space with fewer square feet — but had to close the more socially distant side of his business: the lanes.

Worse still, the lanes are the most profitable side of his business. Justin was having none of it.

Justin is also hands off when it comes to masks, telling me it’s not his business to police the lives of his clientele. He takes them at their word if they say they are mask exempt. He’s following privacy laws and human rights legislation.

All this drew the ire of local tattletales who unleashed Alberta Health Services and bylaw enforcement after him. Now, Justin is facing a $1,200 lockdown fine for opening his lanes and being a common sense entrepreneur.

What’s even crazier is that in recent days, the provincial government has relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, making one-on-one sports and fitness training legal again. All this means that Justin can open his archery lanes — but only if he is offering in-person training to a client. It’s still illegal for a solitary shooter like me to show up alone and put field points in a target, standing far apart from everyone else in the facility.

Did I mention Wyld Archery is across the street from one of Alberta’s busiest Costcos? None of it makes any sense.

Justin isn’t closing his doors. He’s fighting back, and Rebel News is helping him. Justin is pleading not guilty, and we are putting him in touch with a top criminal lawyer at no cost to him to fight his lockdown fine in court.

If you have received a ticket, like Justin, for trying to live your life or run your business, don’t pay it. Fight it with help from Rebel News and our generous supporters at www.FightTheFines,com.

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