DTES pharmacy fined ‘unfairly’ by strata, judge rules

A judge has ruled in favour of a pharmacist who claimed a strata council levied fines against his Downtown Eastside business in a “campaign” to push him and his customers out of the building.

Harvey Chan, a licensed pharmacist and president of Omnicare Pharmacy, launched the petition in B.C. Supreme Court last year after the Carrall Station strata alleged Chan’s business had breached several bylaws. The strata fined Chan $1,000 following several letters advising him of the allegations.

Chan argued the bylaws used by the strata to issue the fines were invalid and that the strata had acted “unfairly” in their treatment of the pharmacy.

“Mr. Chan asserts that these new complaints by the strata council are designed as part of the strata corporation’s ‘campaign’ to force him to move ... and they reinforce his belief that the strata corporation has singled out Omnicare’s business for ‘special unfair treatment,’ ” the court documents read.

Omnicare is on the ground level of an eight-storey building at 1 E. Cordova St. known as Carrall Station, which was completed in 1997 and features eight commercial and 74 residential units.

The dispensing pharmacy, which is open seven days a week, has been operating since 2000. It serves an average of 200 customers daily, many of whom require methadone treatment and have lived in the area before Carrall Station was built.

Chan told the judge he opened the pharmacy “in a very difficult neighbourhood” and had worked hard to build goodwill with customers and addictions-care practitioners. Chan previously served coffee to those waiting for prescriptions as a “simple kindness,” something that prompted the strata to complain of litter.

According to the strata, there had been a “growing sense of frustration and anger” among owners in recent years due to alleged loitering, noise and disturbances coming from those outside the pharmacy’s entrance, described as “alarming” by one resident.

On Wednesday afternoon, the sidewalk in front of the pharmacy was quiet, with only the occasional customer coming or going. A sign on the pharmacy’s door advised customers there was no smoking, no public phone or washroom — and no more free coffee.

“Mr. Chan acknowledges that, generally speaking, his customers are ‘some of the most difficult people in society,’ suffering mental illness, drug addictions and many other social problems. However, from Mr. Chan’s perspective they are ‘still people and deserving of our understanding, respect and support,’ and he has a professional obligation as a licensed pharmacist to provide services to them,” the ruling read.

Justice Elaine J. Adair ruled that the bylaws used by the strata to fine Omnicare were not valid, as they were not in compliance with the Strata Property Act and had been amended over the years.

Additionally, of the five bylaws referenced by the strata, only one addressing nuisance had an equivalent in the previous set of valid bylaws.

On that allegation, Adair ruled that the sidewalk in front of the pharmacy does not constitute common property over which a strata might have jurisdiction.

In her judgment issued Monday, Adair called the strata’s fines “burdensome, harsh and wrongful” and their actions were “oppressive and significantly unfair.”

As a result, she ordered all fines against Omnicare to be cancelled and the pharmacy awarded costs.

A message left for Chan was not returned by deadline.