Court Shuts Down Restaurant for Defying COVID Emergency Rules

‘Enough is enough ‘ we’re opening. . . for dine-in service.’ That was the defiant message an Etibicoke barbecue restaurant posted on its Instagram account the day Toronto entered emergency Stage 1 limiting restaurants to take-out, drive through and delivery services. True to its word, the restaurant opened for dine-in the very next day and the 2 days after that despite receiving over 2 dozen citations. Finally, the owner was arrested and the Ontario Superior Court issued the first restraining order against a business for violating the province’s COVID-19 emergency decrees. Noting that the owner didn’t contend the decrees were unconstitutional or invalid nor offer any defence for violating them, the court also order the owner to reimburse the Crown for the $20,000 in legal expenses it incurred in bringing the case [Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario v. Adamson Barbecue Limited, 2020 ONSC 7679 (CanLII), December 11, 2020].