A decision handed down by the province has made for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic that a business has been ordered to close.
That business, in fact, is the Milden Hotel located in the small village of Milden, roughly 20 minutes west of Outlook.
Dedicated readers of The Outlook who’ve been keeping an eye on what’s been happening with the business know that the bar has received two fines apiece of $14,000 for non-compliance issues that were related to masking. One fine was issued in December 2020, the second issued in March, while another fine of $2800 was issued to an employee of the Milden bar for a mask-related issue.
The province’s Minister of Health, Paul Merriman called the business a “habitual offender” of violating the measures related to masking.
It’s said that the bar must remain closed until it can be determined whether the business is obeying the rules, though it is unclear what the precise conditions are for the Milden establishment to reopen.
“It was a multitude of offences over a longer period of time where public health felt it was important to be able to maintain the safety and the integrity of that community that they would close that temporarily,” Merriman was quoted as saying to press gathered at the legislature in Regina.
In the days since, it has been learned that the owner of the hotel, Christine Brown, has put the business up for sale and that the building is now her personal residence, with hotel signage to be removed. On social media, the name of the Milden Hotel group on Facebook was changed to Brown’s name. The page says an indoor/outdoor yard sale is being held daily at the venue, and it appears as if Brown also gave anyone associated with the Village of Milden a warning about trespassing, of sorts.
“I am in the process of returning this property to residential status heads up!” Brown’s statement partly reads. “Village of Milden… Trespassing will come with hefty fines. NO ONE WORKING FOR THE CORPORATION IS PERMITTED ON MY PROPERTY”
Brown had continuously and openly shared her skepticism surrounding the province-wide restrictions related to COVID-19, including mask-wearing, and that skepticism seemed to also apply to her business, if the bar’s social media presence is any indication.
In what one can only see as related news, the same Facebook page now appears to hype an appearance in Milden on May 10 by Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada.
