UPDATE: Outlaws Taphouse is OUT OF BUSINESS thanks to Alberta government

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I have a very sad update to the case of Outlaws Taphouse and Bar in Calgary.

It’s been murdered by the government.

We first met Outlaws' owners, Kerry Lambert and Marla Fraser, when we offered to help them through our lockdown civil liberties project, FightTheFines.com. They had received a shutdown order from Alberta Health Services, but not because they had done something causing customers to get food poisoning, and it wasn't because their facility wasn't clean.

The closure order came because Outlaws was respecting human rights when enforcing mask laws. As in: if staff or customers said they were mask exempt, Kerry and Marla weren’t going to ask someone to disclose their personal health information to them. Besides, asking for that information would be weird and gross, a violation of common decency and privacy.

The way the authorities dealt with Outlaws was heavy-handed from the beginning. The city even sent the gang suppression unit of the Calgary Police Service to deliver the closure notice to Kerry and Marla.

Rebel News wanted to help. Kerry and Marla told me they were nearly financially ruined by the lockdown: unable to serve liquor after 10:00 p.m. and forced to close at 11:00 p.m., unable to let people come in to play pool or dance, and unable to host live music when they are a live music venue. Their business model was cut off at the knees.

We put them in touch with Chad Williamson from Williamson Law in Calgary, the litigation specialist who worked with Chris Scott of the Whistle Stop Cafe to force the government to back off Chris's restaurant. We did this all at no cost to Marla and Kerry through the support of our viewers' generous crowdfunding through FightTheFines.com

Chad got to work right away. But so did the government. Alberta Health Services was not able to bring Outlaws under the thumb of the government, so other bureaucracies and enforcement agencies came after them to shove a pillow on the face of Outlaws while the business laid on its deathbed.

Occupational Health and Safety, the City of Calgary, and the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission came too. Outlaws was stripped of their food handling permit, their business license and their liquor license.

And now they're closing forever.

Municipal and provincial bureaucrats collectively ganged up to stick a foot on the head of this business while Marla and Kerry tried to keep their heads above water.

Outlaws was rendered insolvent. Months of shutdowns and then the dogpiling that stripped them of any way to do business has made it impossible for them to pay their bills and go on. It’s disgusting, but according to Chad, the fight might not be over yet. He is examining ways to hold the bullies accountable and perhaps stop them from doing it to others.

We know Outlaws is not the only business this is happening to. If this sort of bureaucratic COVID thuggery is happening to you, let us try to help at no cost to you at www.FightTheFines.com.

What have you got to lose? Better to go down swinging.

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