On this they agree: it was a busy St. Patrick's Day at O'Byrne's Irish pub along Edmonton's Whyte Avenue strip. There was a line, and inside was full.
It's a question of how full.
The City of Edmonton is at odds with one of its most prominent Irish pubs over its March 17 bash, arguing management stuffed it far over its approved capacity of 399 for its building and outdoor patio. The city estimates between 580 and 680 were inside alone, varying estimates that the city nonetheless "absolutely" stands by, Fire Marshal Tom Karpa said. (Both the bar and police rely on rough head counts.) There were no injuries as a result of the crowding, but officials consider it a fire hazard.
The bar, meanwhile, flatly denies the claim, saying it was always under capacity and has been mistreated by the city. It alleges officers wrongfully accused the manager of being drunk (the manager is "20 years sober," the owner says) and picking on a prominent Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day.
"Basically, I think what happened was we were wrongfully accused, really, on St. Patrick's Day," owner Cathal O'Byrne said in an interview, saying he wasn't over his capacity of 399. "We made sure we had maintained our capacity. What we did is we just put a little hold on our lineup," Mr. O'Byrne says.
He nonetheless wanted to put the issue behind him, and last month pled guilty. He paid a $3,000 fine set by an Alberta court – a pittance for a busy bar, and below the $15,000 maximum it could have faced. He maintains his innocence, though. "I still stand true to this day that we shouldn't have accepted any fine."
Mr. Karpa declined to comment on Mr. O'Byrne's claims.
The city, however, was hoping for a larger fine – which the province is considering raising the limit on.
Other bars along the popular strip, where O'Byrne's had operated for 15 years without a fine for being too full, have faced fines, including one of $20,000 for a repeat offender. The $3,000 figure is based on comparable fines for other first offenders.
"Personally, I would like to have seen it much higher," Mr. Karpa said, adding occupancy inspections are common during major events. O'Byrne's could hardly have been surprised when police showed up. "Well, you know, it's an Irish pub and it's St. Patty's Day. If they know that or not, I don't know. But we do know that the Irish pubs are definitely very popular," Mr. Karpa adds.
The issue, however, may be a bellwether of things to come: Alison Redford's government is planning to boost penalties in the fall for bars that go far over occupancy. Instead of a $15,000 maximum, the limit will go up to $100,000. Instead of a $30,000 maximum for repeat offenders, the new limit will be $500,000.
"It's absolutely a good idea in my opinion," Mr. Karpa said. "You can appreciate how much money people make in a night, the owner. and if the fines aren't significant, then what's the deterrent?"
Ms. Redford has previously boosted penalties for impaired driving, particularly in a range below what is covered by the Criminal Code, which bar owners decried as a nanny state intrusion that hurts their bottom line.
Occupancy limits, though, are a different beast, and are based essentially on the space, layout and exits in a bar. Edmonton fire and police do regular inspections throughout the city, resulting in a "handful" of charges each year, a spokesman said.
Mr. O'Byrne said he hopes to move past the issue, however, and has no plans to become a repeat offender.
"We're going to try and put it behind us," Mr. O'Byrne said. "We just have to make sure that next year it doesn't happen again."