Maxime Bernier promotes Vancouver restaurant that flouted COVID-19 rules
People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier mingled with supporters this week at a Vancouver restaurant that made headlines for flouting COVID-19 public safety restrictions.
The controversial politician, who has repeatedly appeared at rallies pushing back against pandemic mitigation measures, despite the rising COVID-19 death toll, posted a series of pictures on social media Tuesday taken at Corduroy restaurant.
Corduroy was forced to close earlier this year, and subsequently had its business licence suspended, after owner Rebecca Matthews refused to follow B.C.'s temporary ban on indoor dining. She continued serving customers inside into early April, just as COVID-19 transmission was climbing to record levels in the province.
On Twitter, Bernier praised Matthews as "courageous" for defying "authoritarian lockdown orders."
"If you are in the Vancouver area, you have to visit Corduroy restaurant," he said.
B.C. health officials have credited their temporary restrictions, as well as increasing vaccinations, for getting COVID-19 cases under control. B.C.'s rolling weekly average for cases has fallen from a record of 1,130 per day two months ago down to 175 as of Tuesday.
Back in April, Bernier was among hundreds of protesters who rallied outside the Alberta legislature to call for the province to fully reopen and end COVID-19 rules.
The group also chanted "lock her up" in reference to Alberta's chief medical officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
Premier Jason Kenney responded to the event in a Twitter thread, writing that it is "increasingly clear that many involved in these protests are unhinged conspiracy theorists."
With files from CTV News Edmonton
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.