The city of West Kelowna has confirmed that it is holding back the 2022 business license renewal for a local gym that openly opposes BC’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Iron Energy Gym announced this week that it will reopen despite provincial orders – issued amid an unprecedented COVID-19 transmission – that require personal fitness facilities to remain closed no earlier than January 18.
West Kelowna told CTV News that it failed to issue the gym’s business license renewal on the grounds that it was “in violation of a public health order.”
“The city will review this decision after further consultation with Interior Health,” the City of West Kelowna said in an email statement.
CTV News asked Interior Health if additional enforcement actions are planned against the company but has received no feedback.
Iron Energy Gym didn’t respond to requests for comment this week either, but co-owner Brian Mark told Castanet News that its 1,350 customers depend on the facility for their mental health.
“We understand that COVID is real and people have gotten sick,” said Mark on Wednesday. “That’s why we as owners got vaccinated, asked people to wear masks and provided social distancing. We did everything they asked us to do. When the new restrictions came out and they told us we were going to close our business have to “gym, we decided it wasn’t right.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Iron Energy Gym encouraged members to come back and asked them to bring their phones so they can record any government officials who might be trying to enforce the provincial public health regulations.
“When someone shows up in OUR GYM and tries to shut us down, we want it to be JUMPED all over the Internet,” the post says.
Many gym owners have spoken out against the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry issued closure orders, arguing that her industry is being unjustly attacked, and demanding proof of transmission of COVID-19 in gyms.
At a news conference Tuesday, Henry said that intense indoor training, even when people wear masks, creates an increased risk of transmission, especially since the highly contagious variant of Omicron now makes up 80 percent of cases in BC
“When we have a lot of broadcasting in our community, we’ve seen the gyms become amplifiers repeatedly,” said Henry. “I can’t tell you every single case that has been linked to a gym, but we can tell you that we saw this as a pattern.”
The closure orders were not issued because gyms were not following recommendations or guidelines, but rather to protect customers and employees, she added.
“The legitimate companies understand that if we see the amount of broadcasts we’re watching, they won’t put their employees and customers at risk,” said Henry.
