Photo: Rob Gibson
A Kelowna business owner who violated public health regulations by banning face masks in his business has now banned those who received the COVID-19 vaccine from entry.
In February, Steve Merrill posted a “No face masks allowed” sign on Sun City Silver and Gold on Bernard Avenue. The sign also named Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC Province Health Officer, a “sucker”.
This week, Merrill added another sign to the store prohibiting anyone vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus from entering.
“We don’t want to be sick, the people who are vaccinated can shed the virus,” Merrill said. “It’s going to be a serious problem … it’s already a problem.”
Back in February, another local company raised concerns about the “virus shedding” of the COVID-19 vaccine, but Dr. Albert de Villiers, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer, said the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines do not. The vaccine does not use a “live virus.”
“There are some vaccines that are live vaccines. Once you have the vaccine, you can shed the virus because it is an actual live vaccine,” said Dr. de Villiers. “”
But Merrill says he is not alone in his opposition to the new vaccines, and he doesn’t think the new mandate in his business will hurt his business. In fact, he says his mask-free policy from earlier this year has been a boon to his sales of silver and gold bars.
“[People are] Make a stop here to do business or to drive around town, ”Merrill said. “You want to do business with someone who is awake.”
He believes 75 percent of Canadians will choose not to take what he calls an “experimental potion” vaccine. However, a recent random national survey found that 64 percent of Canadians surveyed would or already have a vaccine as soon as possible, while eight percent said they would never take it.
To date, more than 10 million doses of the vaccines have been given in Canada and more than 1.3 million British Columbians have received at least one dose. As of April 9, 464 “serious” vaccine side effects had been reported in Canada – about 0.006 percent of all doses given at that time.
Merrill admits he’s not a doctor, but says most doctors are “quacks.” He also asked if Dr. Henry was a real doctor and called her a “shill”.
He says he will enforce his new rule as best he can by taking people at their word.
Merrill was sentenced to 90 days in prison last year after convicted of failing to file four years’ worth of income tax. During the trial, he argued that he was not a “person” within the meaning of Canadian income tax law, but the judge dismissed his arguments as “straw man logic” which “contradicts any rational reaction”.
Prior to last year’s trial, Merrill was fined $ 4,000 for failing to file his personal tax returns from 2006 to 2009.
In particular, the man responsible for organizing the anti-mask and anti-lockdown rallies in Kelowna last year, David Lindsay, also spent some time in jail for refusing to file income taxes.
