2 men ticketed after alleged large gathering at Saskatoon-area rental mansion leads to COVID-19 outbreak

The Corman Park Police Service has ticketed two men, including one from Ontario, for allegedly organizing a large gathering at a rental mansion located just south of Saskatoon.

Saskatchewan health officials are now flagging the event as a COVID-19 outbreak, with anyone who attended being asked to immediately self-isolate. 

Meanwhile, the owner of the mansion says guests are being allowed to extend their one-week stay by another two weeks so that they can self-isolate after one or two of them tested positive for COVID-19.

"There was plenty of place for nine people just to be completely independent in the 12,000 square feet," said Jon Daniels, the owner of 5 Cherry Lane. 

In a release, Corman Park police say they were told on May 13 about a gathering inside a residence on Cherry Lane in Riverside Estates, a hamlet within Corman Park — the rural municipality that surrounds the city of Saskatoon.

"It was learned that several people were approaching patrons of the Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon and soliciting them to attend a gathering at the residence to speak to financial opportunities," according to the police release.

Police went to the residence and saw a number of people who were leaving and told police "they did not feel comfortable being in the house with so many people in attendance."

There were at least 14 people inside who were not ordinarily residents there, police said. That's in contravention of Saskatchewan's public health order, which currently caps such gatherings at five people. On Sunday, that will increase to a maximum of 10 attendees. 

Two men who identified themselves as organizers — one from Saskatoon, one from Etobicoke, Ont. — were each ticketed $2,800, police say. 

According to a news release from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, which warned the public about the increased risk of COVID-19 exposure, the event at 5 Cherry Lane was hosted by a group named Generation NXT.

CBC News has reached out to the group for comment. 

At least one person at the mansion from May 9 to May 16 was infected with COVID-19, according to the health authority.

• Increased COVID-19 exposure risk at event in Saskatoon area

Anyone who stayed at the property during those dates is asked to self-isolate for 14 days and seek testing if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.

"We are not able to provide any details of active investigations," said Dr. Jasmine Hasselback, a medical health officer with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. "This is a situation currently under investigation from both the perspective of disease control and any potential infractions of the public health order."

Only two COVID-19 infections are required for the SHA to declare an outbreak. The health authority did not confirm how many cases are tied to the Generation NXT outbreak.

'My agreement with them was 9 people': owner

Daniels, the owner of 5 Cherry Lane — a 12,000-square-foot property that sleeps 40 people and contains conference rooms and a pool — says he initially rented the property for a week to Generation NXT.

"They intimated it had something to do with bitcoin," Daniels said of the event. "I think they referred to cryptocurrency for sure."

The contract stipulated there were to be no more than 10 people in attendance, he said. 

"My agreement with them was nine people who were going to be living together for the entire time as a single unit and getting tested at the end," Daniels said.

The group included members from both Saskatoon and Ontario, he said.

"They had been working on Zoom for a long time and they needed to actually spend some time in the same place, and they got the biggest place that they could so they could safely handle nine people.

"They had agreed to doing COVID protocols."

Daniels said he was contacted by the Saskatchewan Health Authority this week and was told police investigated "a large gathering held by a group that was doing a bitcoin conference of some nature."

The day before the rental was up, Daniels says he was told by Generation NXT they had brought in a private nurse to do COVID-19 testing, and one or two of their members had tested positive for the illness. 

Daniels said he agreed to allow Generation NXT to keep renting the property for another two weeks so that members could self-isolate.

"They're still there," he said.  

Daniels said he has done everything he can to discourage large and loud parties at the mansion.

He said his bread and butter during the COVID-19 pandemic has been single-family staycations. 

"I do have some concerns that a lot of negative press scares off my long-term, quieter potential customers and leaves me with the louder younger customers," he said.