The owners of a gym fined thousands of dollars for defying British Columbia's public health orders will be able to pay the penalty with donations made through a fundraiser, if they choose to pay the ticket at all.
The owners of Iron Energy Gym in West Kelowna were fined $2.300 and ordered to close again last week for their decision to contravene an order requiring all gyms to close for the time being.
The fine came just days after the gym's 2022 business licence was withheld for the same reason.
An online fundraiser meant to cover the costs of this fine and any in the future raised more than $9,400 in just 10 days.
The organizer of the fundraiser, hosted on GOFundMe, wrote that the owners are "standing up and finally saying enough is enough. This will obviously come with consequences."
Some of the donors posted messages wishing them luck. Some who contributed weren't even residents of B.C., but sent cash to show their support.