Chris Scott, owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta, had made a solemn promise to Alberta Health Services and the RCMP that he would no longer open his establishment..So when he was inside Friday, cleaning damage up after someone broke the glass in his front door, he was shocked to see AHS and RCMP speed into his parking lot, and re-padlock the restaurant..In a Facebook posting after the incident, Scott said he was inside his restaurant with a glass installer looking for options on putting in security glass and putting another door in for easier access to his patio. Whoever smashed out the front window had also cut off the original chain the authorities had put on..Scott said he told AHS he would be inside the building, party to remove spoiled food when he was originally locked-out of his business by the government three weeks ago..“AHS, showed up, with the police again, and chained our door shut, again, with a different lock because as they say, they are in control of our business, and our building and we can’t do anything without their permission,” Scott said..Scott said there was “no reason” for Friday’s incident because he had informed AHS that he would comply with a court order..“We were cleaning up a mess in the restaurant. That’s it,” said Scott..“And they came in and pulled ‘we have all the authority and you have none and this is what we’re doing and you have no choice.'”.“It was ridiculous and I was really angry (Friday). I raised my voice at the AHS manager, which, I don’t like doing that, but people get emotional and that stuff happens. When I hear people like that telling me they are in control of my means to earn a living, they’re in control of my destiny, my future, because they say so, it pisses me off.”.In an effort to try earn income, Scott said the Whistle Stop held a drive-in movie night last weekend, which AHS was consulted on. He was hoping to have a marketplace set up for this weekend..Scott is now working on expanding his campground adjoining the restaurant..Scott was arrested on May 8 after a protest which saw 1,500 people show in support of his business which had faced repeated crackdowns by the provincial government..That week saw the RCMP seize all of the establishment’s beer and then days later padlock the restaurant after a dawn raid..Undeterred, Scott continued cooking pancakes, making burgers and serving coffee to his customers the next day in the parking lot outside his shuttered restaurant. The UCP government had recently banned outdoor patio service for restaurants..The Whistle Stop Cafe has become a flashpoint in resistance to provincial lockdown orders and restrictions imposed by the Jason Kenney government, as Scott defied the orders and “illegally” reopened in mid-January of 2021..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
Chris Scott, owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta, had made a solemn promise to Alberta Health Services and the RCMP that he would no longer open his establishment..So when he was inside Friday, cleaning damage up after someone broke the glass in his front door, he was shocked to see AHS and RCMP speed into his parking lot, and re-padlock the restaurant..In a Facebook posting after the incident, Scott said he was inside his restaurant with a glass installer looking for options on putting in security glass and putting another door in for easier access to his patio. Whoever smashed out the front window had also cut off the original chain the authorities had put on..Scott said he told AHS he would be inside the building, party to remove spoiled food when he was originally locked-out of his business by the government three weeks ago..“AHS, showed up, with the police again, and chained our door shut, again, with a different lock because as they say, they are in control of our business, and our building and we can’t do anything without their permission,” Scott said..Scott said there was “no reason” for Friday’s incident because he had informed AHS that he would comply with a court order..“We were cleaning up a mess in the restaurant. That’s it,” said Scott..“And they came in and pulled ‘we have all the authority and you have none and this is what we’re doing and you have no choice.'”.“It was ridiculous and I was really angry (Friday). I raised my voice at the AHS manager, which, I don’t like doing that, but people get emotional and that stuff happens. When I hear people like that telling me they are in control of my means to earn a living, they’re in control of my destiny, my future, because they say so, it pisses me off.”.In an effort to try earn income, Scott said the Whistle Stop held a drive-in movie night last weekend, which AHS was consulted on. He was hoping to have a marketplace set up for this weekend..Scott is now working on expanding his campground adjoining the restaurant..Scott was arrested on May 8 after a protest which saw 1,500 people show in support of his business which had faced repeated crackdowns by the provincial government..That week saw the RCMP seize all of the establishment’s beer and then days later padlock the restaurant after a dawn raid..Undeterred, Scott continued cooking pancakes, making burgers and serving coffee to his customers the next day in the parking lot outside his shuttered restaurant. The UCP government had recently banned outdoor patio service for restaurants..The Whistle Stop Cafe has become a flashpoint in resistance to provincial lockdown orders and restrictions imposed by the Jason Kenney government, as Scott defied the orders and “illegally” reopened in mid-January of 2021..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
