A training center in the region that chose to flout health codes during the pandemic is now knowing the consequences. ProFlex Gym on Maloney Boulevard has to pay a total fine of $14,000. A decision that, according to the court, corresponds to the price to be paid for opening during the pandemic.
In her verdict last April, Judge Christine Auger was not kind to the Proflex gym. She claims that “this file is one of the most serious in the province of Quebec regarding the operation of a training center in the context of a pandemic.”
It will cost the owner $13,800 to continue operating despite the government ban. However, she had defended that decision on TVA Gatineau-Ottawa airwaves.
The judge adds that “the defendant’s actions put the population at risk of community contagion related to the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus.”
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“We will remember that people suffered then. People got sick, there were deaths. It is normal that there are consequences when we have laws designed precisely to protect people, companies or people who do not respect them,” informs Mathieu Lévesque, MP for Chapleau.
In all, the owner of the center pleaded guilty to seven separate counts.
“They were aware of this and agreed to play the game of breaking the law, knowing full well that they were above the law,” said Gilles Levasseur, professor of law and management at the University of Ottawa.
A fair end, according to the head of another training center in the region, who has followed the rules.
“I think it has to be fair everywhere there. Most centers in Quebec, Canada followed the rules. We had no choice. It’s really a small minority who chose not to follow them. So it is certain that there will be consequences afterwards,” says Élaine Dupras, partner and managing director of La Sporthèque.
The owner now has 18 months to pay all penalties.