Isabel Mosseler
Tribune
When Jules Watts had her mobile offerings of hot dogs, chips and pop shut down at Clear Lake Beach in Field on August 2nd, it came as a surprise to her. She and her husband Timothy Watts were in the process of operating Watts Wieners, a business meant to not only generate an income for the couple, but also to help them deliver food and support to homeless people in West Nipissing. Jules says she was in compliance with all legislated standards, health regulations, permits, and was completely shocked when she was informed she had to also have a license from the Municipality of West Nipissing, costing $250/weekend, $500 for 3 months, or $1000 for the year for a mobile food business. In compliance, Jules immediately disassembled her stand and withdrew.
After informing residents of the closure, she received an outpouring of support – and outrage – with at least one person private citizen offering to pay for a license. Clear Lake Beach draws a good crowd in good weather, but unlike other beaches in similar sized municipalities, its amenities are limited to two porta-potties without a washstand, rather than a facilities building with washrooms, changing station and running water. There is limited waste disposal, a cement slab with a covered roof, less than a handful of picnic tables, very little tree coverage, and nowhere to buy a bag of chips, a pop, or a hot dog. There is a sign posted not to swim in the water after a storm because of bacteria. There are no outdoor rinse showers, no changing station for mothers with children, no lighting. The Watts thought they were doing a good thing, providing a positive asset, and Jules was sure she had done her homework.
Yet while many people appreciated their endeavour, Jules assumes at least one person was unhappy enough to lodge a complaint. “That’s what I’ve been told by people that are there (…) Just the way I was approached (…) [The officer] never came in and said, hey, do you have permits? Do you have this? He just said, I have to ask you to leave. He didn’t ask me for any information. He just told me I had to leave.” Jules said the officer did not provide any identification but did have the town’s law enforcement vehicle and wore a uniform. “He told me I had to have a pedlar’s license, which was the first time I’ve heard of that because I have been trying to do the right thing. I’ve been talking to the health unit this whole time (…) I was completely compliant, and people were like, ‘oh, you should put up a fight.’ I said, I don’t want to, I don’t want to have a bad name because I do want to come back (…) I don’t want any problems. So I just said, all right.”
She assures that food safety was always a priority. “I keep my tent very clean. Between people, I sanitize everything. I sanitize my tabletop and I follow all the rules according to the health code. (…) I do have a hand-washing sink with, it’s a foot pump, so it doesn’t get touched. There’s no cross-contamination. I only cook low-risk foods. I don’t cook any burgers or anything like that (…). We only do hot dogs and sausages. The sausages we buy are smoked. They’re already cooked. Everything is low-risk, 100%.”
Jules says it was always her intention to do things by the book, and she is not giving up. “There’s new bylaws I wasn’t aware of with the pedlars (…) but the way they word things, even sometimes I get confused (…). I’m going to have to go and talk to someone in person (…), [find out] what I should be doing (…). I know it’s ridiculous, but I’m very much about following the rules (…). I even had a fire extinguisher in my tent. I have everything that I needed according to the law, and then he came and expounded a new bylaw that I didn’t even know (…) and so now I’m like, okay, well, now I need to get back online and research more.”
The couple have lived in Field for two years, in a trailer off-grid. It’s what they can afford. They have ambitions, they want to start a business with hot dog carts, and this was a first, and somewhat alarming, foray into the business. The couple also have ambitions to be part of the West Nipissing community of care, with a special interest in providing for the homeless population. They have experience with homelessness themselves. Jules explains, speaking on behalf of her husband Tim who is somewhat shy and reticent, that when Tim was 28 he suffered an industrial accident that cost him his leg and left him in a coma. Subsequently, the painkillers administered led to an addiction, and he found himself on the street. He is now 43, has a family, makes ends meet as best he can, and has renewed ambitions. Jules, by profession, is a Personal Support Worker (PSW) who also has ambitions to run her own PSW business in rural settings. She hasn’t had much luck so far, so until she gets her own business established, she has a keen interest in supporting her husband’s dreams. That was her inspiration.
They both grew up in the south, she from the Windsor area and he from Hamilton. “Down there, there’s hot dog carts everywhere. (…) We’re thinking, why is there none up here? (…) We went to the North Bay fireworks (Canada Day two years ago), there was only beaver tails there (…), expensive, I mean reasonably priced for what they are (…) but we wanted something affordable.” It also tied in with their idea to offer free hot dogs to people who have no means whatsoever, the homeless. “That was also his (Tim’s) idea. He’s like, you know, I just really want to help people.”
Jules says Tim’s accident and his subsequent trials have given him a profound sensitivity to the plight of others. He had a good job as a sander and painter on big equipment. “Somebody had a big metal beam up off on a crane, but they didn’t tie it off [properly] and the whole thing came down and his whole leg got crushed and his other foot is actually crushed as well.” When he came out of his coma, he was immediately asked what kind of compensation he wanted, and Tim Watts, to his regret, did not negotiate very well on his own behalf. “They were writing prescriptions. He got addicted to the medications and then due to that ended up being homeless at one point.”
Jules explains that Tim does get bi-weekly payments until he’s 65, when his pension kicks in, receives a personal care amount, and does not have to pay for his prosthesis or replacements. The couple and family can get by on the income he receives but do have to live in reduced circumstances. Asked why he settled for so little, “The problem was he lived in a small town. His family knew their family personally and he felt bad for filing a lawsuit because he had worked for them forever, known them his entire life. And his mom is still friends with them to this day. They hang out all the time. And it’s just, he just felt, he’s just such a kind person (…) He was 28 when it happened, he’s now 42. He’s like, okay, well I know now I kind of got screwed. How can I go back and fix this?” Jules says there’s nothing they can do but move forward, and a hot dog cart business and helping other homeless people is where her husband wants to go, and she’s there to help. Jules has put her own ambitions on the backburner to try this new venture with her husband.
Regardless of their ambitions, the Municipality of West Nipissing does have its regulations, and even though she wasn’t aware, Jules Watts fell afoul of the local bylaws covering mobile food services and municipal beaches/parks. Town officials were not able to respond to questions relating to this specific file but did point out the contravening bylaws. Whether they were reasonably applied or not is up for question. “No person shall, at any location, in the Municipality, operate any mobile food service equipment without holding a current valid licence for such business.” There are exemptions: “Licence fees shall be waived for Mobile Food Service Equipment offering any food for consumption when attending a special event, by invitation, to provide catering services for a specific private or public event… (and) if the intent is to solicit donations or fundraising for school purposes or for a registered charitable organization”. There are also restrictions placed on people operating in public parks, except with a permit from the town. The fines for operating a mobile food service without a license anywhere is $100.
