Alleged fake vaccination certificate in Kingsville restaurant superspreader could lead to civil and criminal liabilities

Windsor, Ont. -

Although many circumstances surrounding a COVID-19 outbreak at a Kingsville restaurant are unknown, a personal injury lawyer says the use of a fake vaccination certificate may lead to civil and criminal liabilities.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit issued a 'high risk' exposure alert for Elite Restaurant from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2 after 42 people tested positive for COVID-19 following a birthday party. The health unit will not release the exact date of the party, but multiple people who say they were in attendance tell CTV News it was on Nov. 20.

Associate lawyer at Kotak Personal Injury Firm, Rajiv Haté, says in this situation, it’s too early to comment on what charges would apply if a patron did in fact use fraudulent documents.

“There could be some criminal liability behind that the criminal code prohibits using fraudulent documents so what the extent of that will be will depend on the facts here in terms of to what extent was it fake,” says Haté.

Under the Reopening Ontario Act, all indoor dining guests at restaurants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The health unit is conducting an assessment of the outbreak and vaccination status of the attendees.

Elite restaurant owner Bimi Rexhepi provided a statement to CTV News, alleging fraudulent documents were used.

“I can confirm at least one patron fake their vaccination status to get in. The restaurant checked everybody, we followed the rules but this is inevitable. There are some people out there that are able to put others at risk. None of our staff were working with COVID,” said the statement.

CTV News has inquired with WECHU if their investigation into possible breaches at the restaurant can confirm this allegation, but have yet to receive a response. On Monday, acting medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai said the investigation is ongoing.

Haté says on the flip side, a restaurant may face consequences if they were not following public health guidelines such as capacity limits or checking proof of vaccination properly.

“When they were checking the vaccine status, how closely were they checking the vaccine certificates and matching them up to the person name, how closely were they confirming the person had two vaccine doses,” says Haté.

Haté does however point to a bill passed by the province known as Bill 218. It essentially protects businesses from COVID-19 exposure liability as long there was an honest effort to act in accordance with the regulations. He says there has be gross negligence or a reckless act in order for there to be some sort of liability on the restaurant.

With files from CTV Windsor's Sijia Liu and Melanie Borrelli.