David Menzies highlights Michaela Tenesi’s six-day hunger strike after a BC pharmacy fined her $230 for refusing to waive her mask exemption, despite legal obligations to accommodate exemptions—her case was overturned in court. He contrasts this with Jenny Hamill’s Alberta diner shutdown over bylaw enforcement, forcing her to remove booths to avoid "vax carding" demands, amid community outrage. Ontario’s Uniqlo store allegedly tracks restroom visits, sparking ridicule from viewers who mock escalating "safety" policies. Menzies ties these incidents to government overreach, questioning whether political timelines—like Doug Ford’s March restrictions lift—will curb arbitrary enforcement before the June 2 election, as public resistance faces mixed outcomes and growing demoralization. [Automatically generated summary]
Welcome to Rebel Roundup, ladies and gentlemen, and the rest of you, in which we look back at some of the very best commentaries of the week by your favorite Rebels.
I'm your host, David Menzies.
Success!
Another victory on the cuckoo COVID front, namely a BC woman, Michaela Tenesi, has a medical mask exemption.
Even so, she was not only denied her medication at the local pharma safe, but she also received a $230 fine.
Michella was so incensed over this injustice, she actually went on a six-day hunger strike.
Drea Humphrey will join me to explain how she recently triumphed in a court of law.
And what's not to love about Jenny's diner in beautiful Bonneville, Alberta?
Well, this excellent eatery was recently shut down by government bullies.
It's sin.
Apparently, owner Jenny Hamill respects her customers' medical privacy, and that is sacrilege in Premier Kenny's Alberta these days.
Just will you hear what Sheila Gunnread has to say about this egregious tale?
And letters, we get your letters, we get them every minute of every day, and you had plenty to say regarding my report on a Uniqlo store in Mississauga, Ontario.
For some goofy reason, this store is actually monitoring those customers that choose to use the washrooms.
Yes, Big Brother is wearing a trench coat and in the name of COVID-19 protocols, he's watching you a little too closely for my liking.
Those are your rebels.
Now let's round them up.
We had a secret shopper.
Who knew they had secret shoppers out there?
And that lady came in, I guess, and we did not ask for the passport.
And three hours later, we had a closure of Dine In.
And I said, no, we're not.
You can put the sign up.
I'm not closing.
And within six days, they suspended my permit.
Most of my patrons were aware of the no dine-in.
Very few people walked up to the door, read it, and turned around.
Most people walked up to the door, read it, and came in.
And I mean, that just shows you what people thought of it.
The support for you within the community has been a lot.
Like, I saw it today firsthand.
And you have these little signs all around the store from people who support you.
The positive support has been overwhelming.
The amount of DMs I've gotten that I'm sorry, I'm just trying, there's just so many.
And people phoning in and saying thank you.
And my hero, I had a gentleman phone me just before the rally.
He's working for a company just passing through town and he says, you're my hero.
I mean, this is a gentleman that doesn't know me from Adam and has just literally drove by, saw our sign and went, I'm thankful you answered the phone.
I just want to say you're my hero.
Like, thank you for standing up.
And I mean, that goes so much.
Like, that just, there's just no words.
And the egregious harassment of those in the private sector by those employed in government and the bureaucracy continues unabated.
But mind you, it's for our collective safety folks because buying a burger and fries at Jenny's diner, well, it's obviously a super spreader event waiting to happen, isn't it?
Even if there's zero scientific evidence that supports such a premise.
Then again, I wonder if there's a Wuhan bat soup on the menu at this eatery.
Maybe we need to get CSI on this case as soon as possible.
And joining me now for more on this story that's equal part sad and infuriating is our chief reporter, Sheila Gunread.
How you doing there, Sheila?
Hey, David, I'm great.
Thanks for having me on the show.
Always a pleasure.
So, Sheila, I have to say, I love, love, love that sign outside Jenny's Diner, the one that states, quote, not forcing you, just taking away everything until you consent, end quote.
Translation, the state is indeed forcing you to play ball if the end result of non-compliance regarding the COVID mandates means that your business is going to be shut down or you're going to be terminated out of a job should an individual refuse to get double vaccinated.
Sheila, this is nothing more than coercion at its worst.
It is not capital punishment, but it is certainly an economic death sentence.
Yeah, that sign outside of her store, I think it's the most popular thing I've ever tweeted.
And it's turning up on large conservative Instagram pages because it is the truth.
And the sign itself calls out the Orwellian nature of what's being done to people.
They're saying, oh, we're not forcing you.
It's not mandatory.
We'll just crush you using the full force of the state until you do it or segregate you into a hole until such time as you comply.
It's just like Jason Kenney's restriction exemptions program.
It's not a vaccine passport, you guys.
We're calling it a restriction exemptions program.
So it has a totally different name.
It does the same thing in reality and in practice, but it's completely something else.
And that's just the entire pandemic from all politicians.
You know, we're not taking away your rights.
We're just locking you in your home until you get the vaccine.
We're not closing your business.
We are protecting jobs and livelihoods.
You know, we're not, this isn't a lockdown.
This isn't self-isolation.
This is you staying home to stay safe.
The whole thing is garbage.
It's just they've changed the meaning of words to make you feel good about the bad things they're doing to you.
You're absolutely right, Sheila.
And you know what I find disturbing?
It's kind of like using a sledgehammer to kill a flea.
This business about, was it law enforcement bylaw, going undercover?
I mean, undercover to a retro 50s diner to see if I can buy a milkshake without wearing a mask.
I mean, really?
Well, yeah.
And it couldn't have been that dangerous since they stayed and finished their meal.
Like, if you were scared that, you know, this person isn't vax carding people.
And so I might be in a restaurant with other people who are unvaccinated, like they're a bunch of lepers.
If you truly believed that that was a dangerous event to the public health, you would not have stayed and enjoyed your delicious meal courtesy of Jenny's Diner.
But they did stay, which means in theory, they don't believe the things that they're enforcing.
They're just more than happy to do it and ruin somebody's entrepreneurial dream, which is the case with Jenny.
She's got to revamp everything about how she does business there because she just won't do this thing the government wants from her.
She says she's not going to be invading the privacy of her customers.
Now, she does have customers who do confide in her because that's the kind of person she is and that's how beloved she is in the community.
But she's not going to pry it out of people who want to come and have a milkshake.
Exactly.
And those people who are terrified just stay at home or go to a curbside pickup or the drive-thru, what have you.
But you know, Sheila, I want to point out something.
I know a bylaw enforcement officer, that is an easy target for people to aim for.
But I just want to say this.
I'm not anti-bylaw.
I mean, for example, if there was somebody in the neighborhood taking dirty motor oil and pouring it down the sewer, that's bad.
That's not right.
I would want bylaw to say, hey, you got to clean up your rack.
You can't do that for all sorts of environmental reasons.
But the idea that, you know, they're going around trying to shut down a business offering a service that people want.
So it's kind of like, I look at it, Sheila, like ticket scalping.
For the most part, law enforcement turns a blind eye to that.
If I want to buy a ticket for the Toronto Maple Leafs at 400% over face value and someone's willing to sell it to me for that, well, what's the crime?
And yet here they are targeting a business to shut it down, going undercover.
That's not right.
You know, I was thinking about this the other day.
This is the same side of the political spectrum that says legalize drugs, people will take on the risk.
Legalize sex work because we can't call it prostitution anymore, but legalize sex work because, you know, that's two consenting adults engaging in a business transaction and they're taking on the risk.
What is it our business?
That's their argument.
But two consenting adults cannot exchange money for a milkshake without the state getting involved and destroying the business.
That's the times that we live in now.
And people don't even see how ridiculous it is that we have undercover secret shoppers going after mom and pop restaurants who serve burgers and fries and cake pops to a willing community.
Nobody is in Jenny's diner that doesn't want to be there.
It's not like somebody is abducting people off the streets, sitting them up at the diner and saying, drink this milkshake or, you know, it gets the hose again.
That's not what's happening at Jenny's diner.
So mind your own business.
If you're too scared, as you say, David, to go out and eat, stay home, Netflix, chill, and door dash your way into diabetes.
But that's not what Jenny's diner is offering.
You're so right.
Consensual milkshake enjoyment is verboten.
But I want to point out something.
You know, Sheila, in your video, what astonished me, and maybe it's because, you know, for seven years of my life and another life, I covered the food service industry.
By the way, one of, if not the toughest industry to make money in, 80% of new restaurant startups fail in the first three years.
That's how tough it is.
But what I noticed right off the bat, my God, that diner is immaculate.
It's like, to use the cliche, it's like you could eat off the floors.
And I challenge the government to say that this immaculate, pristine environment is somehow a super spreader venue waiting to happen.
Whereas a big box store like a Costco or a Walmart that could never come near that level of sanitation, that's okay.
How do you explain that, Sheila?
And that's the thing, David.
I've been in Jenny's diner when they're full.
I've been there, you know, when they were open for customers full time.
It's always that clean.
She doesn't block off her dishwasher area, which can be the grossest part of a restaurant.
She doesn't block that off.
In fact, she's got a little mural back there because she's so proud of how clean and pretty her restaurant is.
The benches just shine.
Like the booths shine.
And the thing is now, so that she is not forced to vax card her customers, she's going to rip out all those booths.
She's taking them all out.
I don't know what's going to happen to them, but she said this beautiful little restaurant that I built that's so cute and so quaint and so authentic, she has to take it all out and she's going to fill up the space with retail items and, you know, other items that she can sell that she makes, you know, like her cake balls and stuff, just to use up the space so that she's not underwater on it.
But she said, I can't use these booths and violate the privacy of my customers.
So the booth's got to go.
Unbelievable.
And somehow doing that makes Alberta a safer place, eh, Sheila?
Sheila, one last question, because we've got to wrap it up.
I'm going to ask you to gaze into your crystal ball.
How does this story end, in your opinion?
I mean, is there going to be a modicum of justice for Jenny?
Are, you know, bylaw and law enforcement and health officials still going to put the pedal to the metal and making her life miserable.
Certainly there was so many in the community love her and love her diner.
How is this going to play out in the final analysis?
Jenny's got her own lawyer.
I did make sure that she did have a lawyer.
She does have her own lawyer because, you know, we would have gladly stepped in to help her, but she's got one that she knows and she likes and she trusts.
So that's great.
She's in good hands.
But I think in the end, Jenny walks away.
That's what I think.
I think that this past 20 months of driving a wedge between Jenny and the customers she so loves and who still love her, I think it's just demoralized her in such a way where I don't know if her love of what she does will ever recover.
And I've never seen the sort of appreciation for what Jenny is doing.
Like the, I think maybe it was replicated with Chris Scott and Natalie Klein when they opened their respective restaurant and barbershop in defiance of the lockdowns.
But people were out at the protest against the vaccine passport, marching with signs, not ones that said stop the vaccine passport, but signs that said reopen Jenny's diner.
Ella Fights For Her Diner00:12:08
That's how the community loves her.
And for the health of the community, the Alberta government has said no.
And I think it's one of the most appalling things I've ever seen.
It's shameful.
The only silver lining I can think of is at least Premier Kenny, unlike Mayor Torrey, didn't send all the king's horses and all the king's men, a la Adam Skelly of Adams and BBQ, and drag her away in handcuffs into a police cruiser.
Absolutely shameful.
I hope this story has a happy ending, Sheila.
I hope you're wrong about this.
We'll see.
And I know you'll bring us the update as soon as it happens.
So thank you for your excellent report, Sheila.
Thanks, David.
Have a great weekend.
You too.
And that was Sheila Gunnread, somewhere in the northern hinterland of Alberta.
Keep it here, folks.
more of rebel roundup coming up right after this it was you know it was a bit of a sad sad kind of scenario um
At the end of the day, you know, after working with the RCMP, You know, and having preliminary discussions with them, it came to light that they really hadn't provided anything to Mahela to aid in her defense, which is something that they're actually duty-bound to do.
Um, so after having that discussion, um, and presenting that to uh the Justice of the Peace, uh, we had the matter stayed, and Mahela was off on her own off on her way.
Uh, very, very sweet lady.
Yeah, I'm uh very grateful to the really rebel media for stepping in and doing this for me, and more so for all the people who are donating to you for causes like mine.
Uh, I also want to say that I was really impressed that this lawyer, uh, the Stephen Whitehead, he came all the way from Alberta to Vancouver Island just to fight for this ticket to fight for me.
And I was really impressed by that.
If you're anything like me, you are starving for some good news.
That's exactly what this report is going to give you.
So, sit back, relax, watch this report in full.
We fought the good fight and we won, baby.
All right, you good to go there, Drea.
Well, my shirt is just like, okay, there we go.
I think I'm good now.
Okay, finally, some good news to savor on the cuckoo for Coco Puffs COVID-19 front.
Michaela Taras.
Oh, sorry.
Mahela.
I call her Ella.
She goes by Ella, so you can say Ella.
Ma'ella.
Mahela.
Ma'ella.
Yeah, Mahala or Mahela.
And how do you pronounce her last name?
Tanasi.
Tanasi.
Yeah.
Okay.
Mahala Tanasi.
I call her Ella.
Finally, some good news to savor on the cuckoo for Coco Puff's COVID-19 front.
Mahela Tanasi does not have to pay that ludicrous fine.
And with good reason, no crime was ever committed.
She has a mask exemption, and businesses by law are supposed to accommodate people with such exemptions.
So was this a matter of Michaela's local pharma safe believing it was, oh, I don't know, above the law?
Because that's what it looks like to us.
And joining me now for more on this story is our BC correspondent, Drea Humphrey.
How are you doing there, Drea?
I'm good.
How are you guys?
Great to see you, my friend.
So, Drea, before we get into the nuts and bolts of this story, what I found disturbing about this case is that Michaela actually went on a six-day hunger strike after the incident at the PharmaSave occurred.
What was the reason for her doing that, Drea?
Well, equally disturbing is that she went to simply pick up her medication at the pharma save in a small town, not a whole lot of options to do so.
Plus, it's where she always goes.
And she was denied the right to pick up her medication because she's unable to wear a mask.
And I call her Ella.
Ella is a fighter.
Apparently, I forget what, for what reason, but I think back in the 70s, she also did a hunger strike.
And so I talked to her husband.
I said, Are you worried about her?
He said, Yes, but there's no stopping her.
I won't be able to stop her at all.
So she's quite the rebel.
And she just said, No, that's ridiculous, which it is.
And you know, Drea, that's the thing.
When it comes to hunger strikes, what I associate that kind of protest to is political protests.
And so maybe that's where we are in Canada.
This is now a political issue.
You got to wear a mask, even if medically you're unable to.
You got to get the double jabs or you're going to lose your job.
Geez, I just wonder if this is going to be a growing trend, but it just shows how deeply passionate she was in saying no to this kind of overreach and coercion.
Absolutely.
And you're right.
Maybe we have to switch up our tactics.
It's been, I think, 18 months of peaceful protests.
So maybe silent protests.
I don't know.
I thought it would be interesting since there's so many health care workers and frontline workers without jobs.
Maybe they could stand on the corner and beg for money because that's the state they're being put into by these policies.
And I do think it's over-politicized.
So maybe it's time to think outside of the box.
You're so right.
In the months ago, before there even was a vaccine, remember how we used to champion them as the frontline heroes and now that there is a vaccine, you're a frontline zero if you don't get the jab.
Just disgraceful.
But you know, this pharmacy, they, especially being involved in the medical industry, if you want to call it that, Drea, they should know that there are exemptions based on age, based on medical status.
So what was their reason for disobeying this bylaw?
I don't think they had a reason.
I think a lot of it comes down to people just hearing these public health lords say a statement.
And so they assume that they can behave that way and it's legal and they don't do their due diligence to find out that, for example, in BC, where Ella is from, where this took place, you have a duty to accommodate people if they're exempt.
And you're right, as a pharmacy, people who are unable to wear a mask are more likely to have medical issues.
They're more likely to be in your business.
So you have a duty to accommodate them.
Simply serve them, obviously, is what I would say.
But I mean, there are other options.
They could have had a cordless way for her to pay and given her product outside or what have you, but they didn't do any of that.
And I want to point out just, you know, the scary trend.
And this is why this fight was so important, because here we are almost, I don't know, maybe just under a year ago, you have her taking this stand saying, no, this isn't right.
I should have my medication.
Flashboard to now, we've let a lot slide.
And now you see there's parents who are unable to see their newborn babies because of these orders or there's people being denied treatment in certain places.
People are just going rogue and doing their own thing, even if it's not lawful to do so.
So that's why fights like this are so important.
You know, I think you're right.
I think it is about going rogue.
And I think the ostensibly ostensible policy reason for them going rogue, Drea, is all based on virtue signaling, i.e., we're going above and beyond what the government is requiring us to do.
I mean, I think back to in Hamilton, the Labor Day classic between the Tiger Cats and the Argonauts.
That was on Labor Day.
The vax passport in Ontario didn't kick in until September 22nd, more than two weeks away.
And yet, for some reason, the Tycats organization said, if you're not double jabbed, go home and watch the game on TV, even though they were not obligated to require a vax passport on this day.
Do you think maybe that's what's driving some of these entities in terms of, you know, we're going to go over and above what we're actually required to do?
Yeah, I think the groupthink mentality, or at least what people think it is, because of what gets portrayed on mainstream media.
And the only thing you hear from the politicians is that everybody wants this.
But I don't really think that's true.
I think, and I don't even know if we can call it the silent majority.
I think most people are saying this is going too far and I'm not really comfortable with where this is.
And when we're denying people basic needs like medication, we're in a dire situation.
And I think they are, you know, I think we've now learned that if people think everybody's jumping off of the bridge, they will too.
Yeah.
And the other thing, Drea, of course, is that you are not above the law.
I harken back to several months ago.
We went out to Imperial Home Hardware on Dufferin Street in Toronto because if I hadn't seen this film from the customer, I never would have believed it.
But that was a story, Drea, where a man went in to support the local home hardware small business, even though less than two clicks away is a giant Home Depot.
And they started stripping him of his, you know, merchandise he was buying because he wasn't wearing a mask.
And when he was frog marched to the door, he pointed out to the employee that, look, it's right there on the bylaw.
You have to accommodate mask exempt people.
And the employee went back into the store, came back out with duct tape and covered over the bylaw stipulation saying that, I swear to you, I'm not making this up, Drea.
Yeah, and it's, I'm sorry, you know, you can't employ, you can't modify laws on the fly.
And what I'm getting to is that when the police officer originally gave this lady her ticket, Drea, why didn't it go down this way?
If there's a ticket to be given, it's the people at the pharma safe because they're breaking the bylaw and not me.
How did it go down that way, Drea?
Well, I think our colleague Tamara Uvellini has done a report trying to figure out the answer to that question.
And it just was a big circle.
They just asked this person, asked this person, at this person.
But you're right.
Why is it all the customer is always wrong now in this in this situation?
Why can't they be simply reminded of the bylaw or human rights laws or anything like that?
And I certainly can't answer that question.
One thing I do want to point out, what I love about this as well, is not the fact that we're bombarded with so much horrible news lately.
And so this is nice to hear.
But this was a $230 fine.
That's what they were starting off with with these kinds of things in BC and then it got higher.
And some would say, oh, you know, that's such a small fine.
But look at the rebels come out of the woodworks on this.
You have Ella who's like, no, not having it.
I'm going to fight this.
She applies out to fight the fines.
Crowdfunders, generous donors come and put funds together to hire her top-notch lawyer, Stephen Whitehead, who flies down to this small place in BC to fight this 230 fine like he's trying to keep Mother Teresa out of solitary confinement or something like that.
That is what we're doing here, setting a precedent here.
And I just think all around everybody who fought that fight and continues to do that should give themselves a pat on the back.
Setting a Precedent Here00:06:17
Oh, you're so right, Drea.
And I think for those members of our viewing audience that are in a similar situation, that they have a bona fide medical exemption not to wear a mask, for example, you need only point to this as a precedent, as you said, that no matter how virtue signaling you want to be as a company, you are not above the law.
And we prove that in court.
Drea, a wonderful report.
Thank you so much.
Thanks, David.
Bye, everyone.
And that was Drea Humphrey in Vancouver.
Keep it here.
More of Rebel Roundup to come right after this.
Holy shit.
Actually, let's keep this PG rated, folks.
Holy, you know what.
Thanks to COVID-19, even going to the loo has become ludicrous.
Indeed, to paraphrase that lyric from Santa Claus is coming to town at Uniqlo's Square One location in Mississauga, Ontario, they know when you've been peeing.
They know when you have pooed.
How disturbing is that in the name of COVID-19 protocols?
The Uniqlo public restroom at the Square One shopping mall is being monitored.
Yes, folks, just when you thought COVID-19 protocols couldn't get any more batshite crazy, along comes the Uniqlo bathroom rules, equal parts baffling and disturbing.
Yes, even using the crapper during COVID has become complicated for reasons that remain utterly mysterious.
But it's a science, stupid.
Yeah, right.
In any event, you had plenty to say about Uniqlo's crappy policy.
PsychoGeek writes, two persons may enter so men can enter the ladies' room.
Cool.
You know, Psycho Geek, what a great observation.
An observation I failed to make when I visited this mall.
This store is obviously so politically correct that it can't use the word woman for the ladies' room and men for the place where the gents must go.
No, that would obviously be an affront to the various gender fluid, non-binary spirit unicorns out there.
So men and women are now simply interchangeable persons.
I wonder if there is also a nursing area at this mall for pregnant people, as the CBC and Dr. Teresa Tem like to call them.
Dennis W. writes, as for what the next level of restroom monitoring might be, they might implement toilet paper sheet counters.
But wait, rather than fining you for exceeding the recommended amount, new TP dispensers may only output a maximum amount of paper before shutting down and waiting for the next occupant to arrive.
You may want to start packing a roll of TP with you before you leave home.
You know, Dennis, I wouldn't put that past them.
And the overseers would obviously be doing this in the name of not just COVID, but as a form of environmental stewardship.
Somewhere in Sweden, the female version of the kid from Deliverance is smiling.
Pop Shop Kid writes, the lunacy only gets worse and worse in Canada.
Ford says things are going back to total normal in March.
Don't count on it.
This stuff ain't going away for a long, long time.
Love that line, COVID Karens.
Well, Pop Shop Kid, I tend to believe the Premier, although I wouldn't bet the house on it, that many of these restrictions are going to be toast by the end of March.
After all, June 2nd is Election Day, and surely Doug Ford knows that a big, big part of his base, aka the bunch of Yahoo's, as Ford likes to call them, are furious with the way this province has been run these past 18 months.
As for the COVID Karens, I reckon they tend to vote liberal and NDP.
Adrian Simpkins writes, What happens when more than four people enter?
Is a Terminator deployed, perhaps?
You know, another great observation.
Can you imagine, folks, the poor security guard who is dispatched to the Uniqlo bathrooms issuing hosta la vista orders to get those breaking the attendance rules out of there?
Gee, where is janitor and a drum when you really need them?
Richard Plant writes, David, I've heard you report on lunacy after lunacy after lunacy over the years, especially the last two years.
I can't wait to hear you say the words, at last, folks, sanity is starting to appear once again.
This washroom idiocy is a new low by the criminals in the command centers of public policy.
Oust them and their petty games upon our sensibilities.
Wow, Mr. Plant, I can't wait to make such a report about a return to sanity.
These are the craziest times I've ever lived through.
The question is: are we at peak crazy yet, folks?
And I think the answer is no.
And finally, Larry Jackson writes: shouldn't they be tracking your carbon poo print while they're at it?
Yikes, Larry, to quote the psycho Andrew Robinson character from Dirty Harry, please ice scare easy.
Besides, don't give our COVID overseers any more ideas, my friend.
Aren't things bad enough as is?
Well, that wraps up another edition of Rebel Roundup.
Thanks so much for joining us.
See you next week.
And hey, folks, never forget, without risk, there can be no glory.