Photo: Contributed
A Kelowna business owner is shocked when three men who refused to wear masks walked into her store and started screaming and videotaping her and her six-month-old baby.
Dr. Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry announced Thursday that masks are now required in all indoor public and retail areas across BC
Jennifer West, the owner of Bean Scene North on Ellis Street, tells Castanet that just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, three men entered the shop without a mask.
“They tried to order something and my husband said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry you actually have to wear a mask’ and they say, ‘No, we don’t wear masks,'” she says.
Her husband then tried offering them free face masks to which they replied, “No, we don’t wear them.” The men were then asked to leave, but they refused.
West was sitting in the back of the store with her baby when her husband came back to get a phone to call RCMP.
“He came back to get the phone and I went out there and they had a laminated charter of rights and freedoms and they say, ‘Did you see this? Read this. You’re violating my rights.'”
The men start filming West and her baby on their cell phones while asking if she is the owner and what her name is.
West explained that it was none of their business, what their name was and that they had to go. The men started screaming that they didn’t have to go because it was a public space. She then tried to explain that it was not public property and that it was her property and that she has the right to refuse to serve.
“Now you only harass us. You harass my employees,” says West.
“They put their faces behind the plexiglass barriers. They are screaming at us. I’m holding a baby right now and they are still screaming.
“They eventually went out, but it took almost five minutes to get started and they told me my business was going to go out of business. There were indeed customers in the store at the time, but they went once argument started.”
The Wests contacted RCMP and locked their doors. RCMP couldn’t find the men.
“We didn’t know if they were coming back because they were really upset. You never really know what people are capable of.”
The three men are described as medieval and Caucasian.
“I think people need to be aware that there are people who are harassing other companies,” says West. “I agree to the mask mandate and I think people should definitely wear masks, but I’m just worried about the safety of some of my little colleagues down here.”
