Sudbury gym owner hit with $880 fine for running unauthorized day camp during lockdown
A Sudbury gym owner who ran a day camp while his gym was forced to close because of the COVID-19 lockdown has been fined $800.
Dennis Legault, owner of Apex Warrior, a ninja gym in Sudbury’s south end, said he wasn't trying to break the rules, but was trying to make the most of a difficult situation for himself and parents.
“We were able to bring kids in to do their online learning here and then we would provide, you know, a little bit of time in the ninja course during gym just to keep the kids active and engaged during the day," Legault said.
"We made it two days and then on Tuesday, Sudbury health showed up, a bunch of cops showed up and they ended up just completely shutting us down."
He said thanks to the support from the community after he posted the news on social media, the cost of the fine has been covered.
“That was unreal. I just kind of wanted to share what happened. It snowballed into this really big thing that I didn’t know it was going to do," Legault said.
"The amount of support from the community and people that have reached out that I don’t even know. From the members, it's been massive. They all got together and started collecting donations to help cover the fine and it surpassed the amount of the fine.”
He said the program was capped at 10 children. With 5,000 square feet of space, he said everyone had their own area and the children wore masks.
But he admits he didn't check with Public Health Sudbury & Districts before offering the day camp because he said it's something he has offered during past lockdowns.
“The rules are always changing and so it’s really hard to stay updated," Legault said.
"In the summertime, we ran summer camps during when gyms were completely shut down. We were still open, running summer camps all summer and you know we try to do something similar -- but different -- this time and they shut us down.”
Kevin McGarry, a father of two, said the day camp was a chance for his children to do school in separate locations.
“It was like a win-win," McGarry said. "It was like, yeah, I’m jumping on this.”
He was on his way to get his son on Tuesday when he received a message that police were at the gym and wouldn’t be leaving until everyone was picked up.
“That’s obviously really tough to explain to a six-year-old," McGarry said.
CTV News contacted Public Health Sudbury & Districts about the incident and received this statement:
“Public Health Sudbury & Districts works with enforcement partners such as municipal bylaw and Greater Sudbury Police Services to follow up on issues of non-compliance with provincial legislation. These provincial regulations are designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread within the province as well as local communities.
"Under the present legislation O. Reg. 263/20: RULES FOR AREAS IN STEP 2 under Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 17, day camps, child care providers for school-age children and facilities for indoor sports and recreational fitness activities as well as many other businesses are not allowed to operate except under specific circumstances.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.