The Town of Qualicum Beach says video evidence of the night of the gathering directly contradicted what the owners of Oceanside Air said happened on the night in question. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

major party foul

Town says breach of public health orders and conflicting reports led to cancellation of Oceanside Air’s lease

Dec 13, 2021 | 5:20 PM

QUALICUM BEACH — The Town of Qualicum Beach has released a statement following the revelation last week that Oceanside Air, a start-up airline that provided daily service from Oceanside, had their lease terminated following an employee gathering at the Qualicum Beach airport.

In the statement, the Town said Oceanside Air was in breach of a number of regulations and conditions when they hosted the gathering at the airport on Nov. 11.

The Town said they did not make the decision to terminate their lease lightly.

“While the Qualicum Beach Airport is smaller than Vancouver, Victoria, or Nanaimo, all airports are federally regulated and Qualicum Beach must operate under the same Transport Canada guidelines.”

Following an interview with one of the owners of Oceanside Air and after reviewing the CCTV video footage of the night in question, the Town said the owner’s explanation of the evening conflicted with the video footage.

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The Town said over a 90-minute period in the video, which showed the Oceanside Air owners and staff in an airport terminal, they were unmasked with open alcohol. Oceanside Air did not have a liquor permit, and the video showed open alcohol outside of their leased space, including restricted areas of the airport, in the public terminal, and in the parking lot.

Masks are mandatory in all Town buildings, including airport terminals, according to the Provincial Public Health Orders, and the Town said the staff and owners of Oceanside Air were in breach of those orders, and they were issued a formal letter on Nov. 16, 2021.

On that same day, Council and staff received correspondence from Oceanside Air saying the celebration was confined to their lease space only, which video evidence directly contradicted.

Oceanside Air appeared as a delegation in front of Council during their in-camera portion of their Nov. 24, 2021 council meeting. Again, the information they presented there conflicted with the information gathered in the video footage.

Due to the severity of the infractions and the need to report aspects of this incident to Transport Canada, Council decided to terminate Oceanside Air’s lease with 90 days notice, while allowing the airline to operate charter flights after the lease in the terminal has terminated on March 3, 2022.

“Promoting a safe environment in our public buildings and our workplaces is a priority for the Town of Qualicum Beach and bylaws and public health orders are in place to ensure safe spaces. Our goal is to maintain the friendly atmosphere of the Qualicum Beach airport terminal and prevent the necessity and cost of having security staff on-site to prevent any future issues.” – Town of Qualicum Beach.

Earlier story: Qualicum’s Oceanside Air to be evicted from airport after birthday gathering.

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