Learn to Earn is fighting two $2,300 tickets for health measure violations that were given to them in 2022
A judge has decided that a Prince George club that broke COVID-19 rules over and over again does not have the right to a trial in French.
How to Make Money Bartending School and Consulting, which ran the Lambda Cabaret in the city’s downtown, asked for a trial in French or both English and French because it is fighting two tickets for not following COVID health rules.
An accused person in Canada has the right to a trial in either English or French, the two official languages, if they can talk to their lawyer and understand what is going on in that language.
But the club’s owner, Linda Allen, only speaks English and doesn’t know any other languages. Judge Martin Nadon of the provincial court said there was no proof that the company being fined did any business in French.
“The court thinks, and the law agrees, that a person who asks to have a trial in French must know at least a little bit of the language,” Nadon said.
“The application is denied.”
“There are people who back us in Quebec and Alberta.
Learn To Earn is fighting against two $2,300 tickets that were given to them in the winter of 2022 for not following health rules that were meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.
At the time of the alleged violations, Lambda was known in the northern B.C. city as a gay-friendly nightclub. Since then, it has become Club 1177. Tuesday, flags of a group called The United People of Canada, which is said to have ties to the Freedom Convoy, could be seen outside the building.
Learn to Earn’s defense lawyer, Saron Gebresellassi, says that the trial should be held in both English and Spanish.
She says that people all over Canada are very interested in it. Some have even flown in from Ontario to hear the case. She says that part of the case is about dancing and free speech.
Gebresellassi said, “There are people from the Acadian community right in Prince George who care about the case.” “People in Quebec and Alberta back us.”
“Both English Canadians and French Canadians have a stake in this case.
Nadon says that since an expert witness who speaks French is likely to testify, an interpreter could be sent. Gebresellassi says that is a good start, but in the interests of time and linguistic minority rights, a bilingual trial would be better.
“That’s why there are appeals in Canada.
Gebresellassi said that she disagrees with the decision not to have a trial in two languages.
Gebresellassi said, “That’s normal, and that’s why Canada has appeals.” “Courts make legal or factual mistakes all the time.”
She says that this is a chance to protect the rights of Canadians to use government services and courts in both official languages and to protect the equality of both official languages.
She said, “I’m really excited and looking forward to making sure that the Constitution is upheld and that language rights are protected in Canada.”
Gebresellassi says that she will ask government leaders from all over Canada and diplomats who speak French to come and watch.
According to the B.C. Prosecution Service, there were 59 requests for French proceedings in the whole province in 2021, and 28 of them led to a trial or other resolution.
Before, the club fought and won eight separate tickets related to COVID health measures.