St. Albert clothing store faces citation for violation of COVID-19 rules

"You can't come into my business and tell me to do something without some sort of justification as to why we need to do it. Show me the science, show me the data, show me the research that AHS has done or that they're referring to," says Revolution Botique owner Brad Leyden.

He's facing two orders of non-compliance from Alberta Health Services (AHS) after his boutique in St. Albert was cited for not following COVID-19 health guidelines. An inspector with AHS entered the store and discovered that the business violated seven COVID-19 health orders "which are or may become injurious or dangerous to the public health or which might hinder in any manner the prevention or suppression of disease."

Aa work order was issued to Revolution Boutique by the inspector on Feb. 12 that included an immediate order for the store to put these

measures in place.

According to AHS, "employee screening for COVID-19 symptoms was not being carried out and employees were seen not wearing masks [and] there was no barrier in place at the cash register to protect staff or customers, and the business had no signage regarding COVID-19 precautions."

Furthermore, disinfectant was not present for the cleaning of high-touch surfaces.

A week later, an AHS inspector did a follow-up inspection. "They noted some progress, but not full compliance," wrote Kerry Williamson, AHS spokesperson, in an email to the Gazette. "AHS is considering next steps, and is working closely with RCMP."

Those in violation of COVID guidelines may be subject to tickets of $1,000 per occurrence, according to the Alberta government. If the case goes to court, violators could see fines of up to $100,000 for a first offence and up to $500,000 for a subsequent offence for more serious violations.