By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Native burger shack re-opens despite closure order
CALEDONIA Public health officials are contemplating further legal action after a burger shack on the community’s outskirts reopened Sunday, serving hundreds of customers.
An employee at the neighbouring One Stop Smoke Shop on Highway 6 said the eatery sold out of burgers, fries and other grub during a traditional dance event.
“We had over 400 people here,” said the worker, who would only identify himself as Jum. “The cops didn’t give us any trouble.”
The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit ordered the one-room restaurant to close July 12, after finding it lacked running water and a consistent power source. It also failed to contain a proper hand-washing station for employees.
When the little shack refused to comply, public health officials took the issue to court. Last Monday, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a similar order to shut the burger shack down, but by that point it had already stopped serving food.
The restaurant bucked the court order this past weekend when it reopened for Six Nations’ annual pow-wow. But since an injunction has yet to be issued, OPP officers at Sunday’s event lacked the authority to stop it.
“Our job is public safety — to preserve the peace,” said Constable Mark Foster. “We’re better sometimes to step back, observe and then follow up later as we did with other incidents in the Caledonia area.”
Both the burger shack and smoke shop were built on the old portion of the highway at Argyle Street South — an area that is the subject of an unresolved land claim filed with the federal government. (Source: The Hamilton Spectator)