The lawyer for an Alberta restaurant owner says his client has been acquitted on all charges he faced under the Public Health Act in connection with accusations made against him during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the spring of 2021, Alberta Health Services said it received hundreds of complaints about the Whistle Stop Café in Mirror, Alta., with people telling the health authority it had not been complying with pandemic health restrictions.
When health officials closed owner Christopher Scott’s diner, an anti-lockdown rally was held in support of the business owner, attracting hundreds of people.
On Tuesday, Scott’s lawyer, Chad Williamson, told Global News that his client was acquitted of all charges.
The acquittal came less than four weeks after a Court of King’s Bench of Alberta ruling found that provincial cabinet and government committees making final decisions about orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of the chief medical officer of health herself, violated the Public Health Act.