A north-end Halifax Islamic centre is calling for the immediate cancellation of their next-door neighbour’s liquor licence for what they call a “frontal attack to our way of life.”
The Centre for Islamic Development and the Ishan Academy issued a formal complaint against their Robie Street neighbours, the Good Robot Brewing Company, to the Nova Scotia Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel, Tobacco Division on Sept. 28.
The facility is calling for Good Robot’s licence to be revoked under section 29 of the Liquor Licensing Regulations which allows for someone to ask in writing to have a liquor licence cancelled or limited based on the establishment “interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbouring properties.”
John MacDonald, executive director of the Nova Scotia Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel, Tobacco Division of Access Nova Scotia, referred the matter to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on Oct. 12. The board has not yet issued directions on the matter.
Among the many complaints, the centre says it has faced increased cleaning, insurance and security costs, loud music, a marijuana smell and loitering.
“They installed tables against the side of our neighbouring window to them and the party began, much to our dismay,” Juan Carlos Canales-Leyton, a member of the Islamic centre, wrote in the document.
The religious group purchased the property in 2001 with the hope of turning it into a community centre, a place of worship and a temporary home for Muslims in difficult situations.
In 2014, the group had completed a multi-million-dollar renovation to their aging facility. The centre is now a fully-functioning mosque, school and community centre.
“Generally speaking, we have had no disruptions or distractions worth mentioning until the Good Robot Brewing Company came to the neighbourhood,” Canales-Leyton wrote.
According to Canales-Leyton, the centre has been forced “to operate with closed windows, even in the hottest of days, to reduce the (vulgar) noise that invades us.
“The granting of a Liquor License to a neighbouring property has resulted in our loss of enjoyment of the property we built for religious and educational purposes.”
Good Robot opened in May 2015 with the mission to “take beer, but not ourselves, seriously.” A call and email to the company were not returned.
MacDonald wrote in his response to the complaint that Good Robot received their liquor licence because Service Nova Scotia followed the proper procedure for application and without any objections.