Hamilton bar racks up 10 COVID-19 fines in 1 night
Published October 25, 2021 at 11:04 pm
A downtown Hamilton bar ran up quite a tab.
According to the city’s website about COVID-19 enforcement, the Bad and Boujee bar on John Street received 10 separate fines last Saturday (Oct. 23) for failing to comply with the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA). That was just two days before the province began to relax capacity limits inside bars, restaurants with indoor dining and fitness facilities.
The fines under Section 7.0.2 of the ROA were for:
- COVID-19 safety plan violations;
- Face covering violations (four counts)
- Failing to conduct required screening of customers and/or employees
- Failing to enforce/ensure physical distancing
- Fail to comply with specific industry regulations regarding dancing
- No contact tracing;
- Vaccine verification violations.
A penalty notice or ticket is considered an allegation. The business is presumed innocent until the alleged offence is proven or admitted. An enforcement fine under the ROA ranges from $750 to $1000.
The bar opened in February 2020, about six weeks before a state of emergency was first declared in Ontario due to COVID-19.
By the look of it, Hamilton bylaw officers were busy over the weekend. Nine businesses were fined on Sunday (Oct. 24).
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Boulevard Billiards, a pool hall on York Blvd., was fined thrice, for face coverings violations, no contact tracing and vaccine verification violations.
Stonewalls Restaurant, which is on the same street, was another multiple offender. It was fined twice on Saturday, for face coverings violations and vaccine verification violations.
On Sept. 22, Ontario began requiring non-essential businesses, such as bars and restaurants serving food indoors, to verify that patrons were vaccinated against COVID-19. An app-based system went into effect last week on Oct. 22, although patrons can still show a printout of their vaxx status as proof.
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