UCP DISREGARDS ALBERTANS HEALTH & SAFETY
Calgary Chamber of Commerce slams Alberta's move to cancel vaccine passport program
CALGARY — A major business group has slammed the Alberta government's decision to eliminate a proof-of-vaccine program, calling it "akin to ripping the Band-Aid off before the wound has healed."
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday evening, just hours after Premier Jason Kenney announced that businesses will no longer have to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from patrons as of midnight.
Alberta's Restrictions Exemption Program, or REP, was introduced last fall in an effort to curb spiking case rates and encourage vaccination. It requires Albertans to show proof of double vaccination or a negative rapid test result to obtain entry to businesses operating under the program.
The program is the first to go as part of the province's three-step plan to lift public health restrictions.
"The restriction exemption program has served its useful purpose. It has done its job," Kenney told a news conference.
But chamber president and CEO Deborah Yedlin said that public health measures like the REP and masking remain critical to ensuring people feel comfortable dining at restaurants, attending sporting and entertainment events, going to gyms and going to work.
"Today's announcement on the immediate removal of all pandemic measures and restrictions ignores the importance of consumer confidence in our economic recovery," Yedlin said.
She added the chamber believes that prematurely lifting restrictions could lead to reduced revenues for businesses, as people choose to stay home and minimize the potential for exposure to the virus.
Yedlin also warned of labour shortages due to illness, and a potential increase in infection rates at schools, "sending children and teachers home and disrupting work patterns and productivity for many parents."
Another industry group, the Alberta Hospitality Association, which represents restaurants and bar owners, wanted to see other restrictions — such as a liquor curfew, bans on live music and billiards, and rules about how many people can be seated at one table — removed before the passport program.
Instead, those restrictions remain in place until at least March 1.
“We’re in favour of whatever it takes so that we can operate our businesses at 100 per cent. If that means keeping the REP, then by all means," said Ernie Tsu, president of the association and owner of Calgary's Trolley 5 brewpub.
"They went against all of the stakeholder groups that wrote letters in. They didn't listen to us at all."
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Ontario looking into providing support for businesses following new COVID-19 restrictions: Finance minister
Earlier Tuesday, at the Rose & Crown in Banff, Alta., Vern Iskauskas said he was awaiting Kenney's announcement with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
The owner of the pub and popular live music venue said he welcomes a move toward lifted restrictions, but thinks it's a mistake to ditch the proof-of-vaccine program first.
"I'm very open to lifting restrictions, I just hope it's done in the right way," he said.
“We fear losing some of the loyal customers who have come back to us because they feel safe here. We also fear that if there is a little bit of a spike in cases afterward, which could happen for a variety of reasons not necessarily associated with the REP, that our industry ... could be scapegoated again, with further restrictions placed upon us.”
Many other business owners said they feel mixed emotions over the idea of scrapping the passport.
Paul Shufelt, who owns Robert Spencer Hospitality Group, which operates a handful of Edmonton restaurants including Workshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers, said he knows that if the province removes the mandate, business owners will have the ability to continue checking proof-of-vaccination for their own purposes.
But he said that's a tough decision to make.
"Probably more than anything, I worry for my staff on the front line, whether we go one way or the other, because those are the people that tend to feel the wrath of angry or frustrated customers," Shufelt said. "I don't think there is a right answer, and that's the hard part."
"We're welcoming a return to normalcy, but I understand both sides of it," said Mark Petros, owner of Nick’s Steakhouse and Pizza in Calgary. "A lot of our customers work at the Foothills Hospital and the Children's Hospital because we're close by, and we don't want to see the hospitals getting overloaded."
The Edmonton Chamber said before the announcement that it supported responsible health and safety measures that allow businesses to operate while protecting customers, workers and communities.
"We would hope that any decision to ease restrictions would be made in consideration of health information and supporting data," Jeffrey Sundquist, president and chief executive of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said in an email.
Also on Tuesday, Saskatchewan announced a plan to lift all of its COVID-19 restrictions. Starting Monday, the province will no longer require COVID-19 vaccine passports. It is also ending its indoor mask mandate at the end of the month.
Premier Scott Moe said providing proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter businesses like restaurants had helped in the fight against spread of the virus.
But he said it also created deep divisions in the province — in effect "two classes of citizens."
"The benefits of this policy no longer outweighs the costs," Moe said, adding people should be able to choose whether they get vaccinated or not.
"This government is going to respect that right."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2022.
— With files from Fakiha Baig in Edmonton.
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
'Too much, too fast': Edmonton Public board chair frustrated division was not consulted on COVID-19 changes
The head of the Edmonton Public Schools board says the government’s decision to remove masking requirements in Alberta schools was done without any consultation, leaving some parents with little to no option to switch their kids to online learning.
Ashley Joannou -
Edmonton Journal
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
Teachers' union, Edmonton school board, worried about Alberta lifting COVID mask rule
The head of the Edmonton Public Schools board says the government’s decision to remove masking requirements in Alberta schools was done without any consultation, leaving some parents with little to no option to switch their kids to online learning.
Ashley Joannou -
Edmonton Journal
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.
In a letter to school authorities Tuesday, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said they will no longer have the authority to require students be masked to attend school in person or ride the school bus as of Feb. 14, as part of the government’s plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions around the province.
It comes after government spent earlier phases of the pandemic saying that it was up to school boards to set rules mitigating COVID-19 risks and weeks after medical masks and rapid tests started arriving at schools for students to use.
Edmonton Public School Board chairwoman Trisha Estabrooks said Wednesday it doesn’t appear there’s a way for the division to go against the government’s decision. She said despite a downward trend in reported cases in schools, the changes are “too much, too fast.”
“Unfortunately, we have to listen to this directive and if you hear the frustration in my voice, it’s because school boards were not consulted in this decision,” she said.
“We weren’t asked for feedback and I find that incredibly frustrating, that a decision that has such far-reaching implications for school divisions, that there was no effort to reach out to us and to seek our feedback.”
Premier Jason Kenney has defended the decision not to require masks in schools, saying that the province can’t “force kids to pay the price for disease that primarily affects adults.”
“After two years, I think as a society, we should say enough already with COVID restrictions affecting the lives of kids,” he told the Shaye Ganam radio show Wednesday morning.
“Kids have paid a disproportionate share of the burden for a disease which has a tiny threat to the health of children,” he said.
Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Michelle Warren said Wednesday in an interview with Postmedia that she doesn’t think masks are damaging to children. She said kids need to be able to socialize with their peers and there are both students who don’t want to go to school if they have to wear a mask, and students who don’t feel safe without one.
“I think we need to see something that I hope to see mirrored in the adult world — and that’s respect and tolerance,” she said.
“So just because you don’t have to wear a mask doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t wear a mask or that you can’t wear a mask.”
Estabrooks said the school board will encourage students to wear masks and that the division still has the authority to move individual classes online if necessary.
The deadline for parents to decide whether their kids would spend the second half of the school year learning in person or online has passed and Estabrooks said it would be “a logistical nightmare” to allow students to switch now.
“The timing is terrible in some ways, in that we offered this choice for families, we gave families this expectation that we would have these protocols in place and now, due to factors beyond our control, we can no longer offer that.”
Edmonton Catholic School Board chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said in a statement Wednesday that the division is expecting more guidance from the government in the coming days.
“Edmonton Catholic Schools will always support students who choose to wear a mask in school. On the same note, we will support students who choose not to wear a mask,” she said.
In a email Wednesday LaGrange’s press secretary Katherine Stavropoulos did not answer a question about why school authorities were not consulted prior to the changes but said families can make a decision to wear masks based on their individual circumstance.
Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said Wednesday that the government should be more cautious and the association would have to talk to its lawyers about potential legal action.
He said teachers could make an occupational health and safety claim.
“They can look at their workspace, their classrooms, and say, ‘I don’t feel safe here,’ ” he said.
Talk of a potential legal action drew criticism from both Kenney and Calgary-South East MLA Matt Jones.
“Almost all Alberta teachers are vaccinated. To deny their safety is to deny the efficacy of vaccines at reducing severe outcomes,” Jones said.
— With files from Lisa Johnson
ajoannou@postmedia.com
twitter.com/ashleyjoannou
In a letter to school authorities Tuesday, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said they will no longer have the authority to require students be masked to attend school in person or ride the school bus as of Feb. 14, as part of the government’s plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions around the province.
It comes after government spent earlier phases of the pandemic saying that it was up to school boards to set rules mitigating COVID-19 risks and weeks after medical masks and rapid tests started arriving at schools for students to use.
Edmonton Public School Board chairwoman Trisha Estabrooks said Wednesday it doesn’t appear there’s a way for the division to go against the government’s decision. She said despite a downward trend in reported cases in schools, the changes are “too much, too fast.”
“Unfortunately, we have to listen to this directive and if you hear the frustration in my voice, it’s because school boards were not consulted in this decision,” she said.
“We weren’t asked for feedback and I find that incredibly frustrating, that a decision that has such far-reaching implications for school divisions, that there was no effort to reach out to us and to seek our feedback.”
Premier Jason Kenney has defended the decision not to require masks in schools, saying that the province can’t “force kids to pay the price for disease that primarily affects adults.”
“After two years, I think as a society, we should say enough already with COVID restrictions affecting the lives of kids,” he told the Shaye Ganam radio show Wednesday morning.
“Kids have paid a disproportionate share of the burden for a disease which has a tiny threat to the health of children,” he said.
Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Michelle Warren said Wednesday in an interview with Postmedia that she doesn’t think masks are damaging to children. She said kids need to be able to socialize with their peers and there are both students who don’t want to go to school if they have to wear a mask, and students who don’t feel safe without one.
“I think we need to see something that I hope to see mirrored in the adult world — and that’s respect and tolerance,” she said.
“So just because you don’t have to wear a mask doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t wear a mask or that you can’t wear a mask.”
Estabrooks said the school board will encourage students to wear masks and that the division still has the authority to move individual classes online if necessary.
The deadline for parents to decide whether their kids would spend the second half of the school year learning in person or online has passed and Estabrooks said it would be “a logistical nightmare” to allow students to switch now.
“The timing is terrible in some ways, in that we offered this choice for families, we gave families this expectation that we would have these protocols in place and now, due to factors beyond our control, we can no longer offer that.”
Edmonton Catholic School Board chairwoman Sandra Palazzo said in a statement Wednesday that the division is expecting more guidance from the government in the coming days.
“Edmonton Catholic Schools will always support students who choose to wear a mask in school. On the same note, we will support students who choose not to wear a mask,” she said.
In a email Wednesday LaGrange’s press secretary Katherine Stavropoulos did not answer a question about why school authorities were not consulted prior to the changes but said families can make a decision to wear masks based on their individual circumstance.
Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said Wednesday that the government should be more cautious and the association would have to talk to its lawyers about potential legal action.
He said teachers could make an occupational health and safety claim.
“They can look at their workspace, their classrooms, and say, ‘I don’t feel safe here,’ ” he said.
Talk of a potential legal action drew criticism from both Kenney and Calgary-South East MLA Matt Jones.
“Almost all Alberta teachers are vaccinated. To deny their safety is to deny the efficacy of vaccines at reducing severe outcomes,” Jones said.
— With files from Lisa Johnson
ajoannou@postmedia.com
twitter.com/ashleyjoannou
Teachers' union, Edmonton school board, worried about Alberta lifting COVID mask rule
Yesterday
EDMONTON — The president of the Alberta Teachers' Association says it is exploring legal options after the province announced it will lift the mask mandate in classrooms and take away power from school boards that disagree with the decision to implement their own rules.
Jason Schilling said Wednesday it's too soon to say whether individual teachers will take legal action against the government but it is talking to its lawyers about teachers who may have occupational health and safety concerns.
"The association will look at all the avenues that we have available to us in order to make sure that our teachers are working in a healthy and safe atmosphere and environment," Schilling said Wednesday.
"Teachers can look at their workspace, their classrooms, and say I don't feel safe here like every employee across the province."
The province announced Tuesday that mandatory mask rules will be cancelled for children under 12 in all settings and for all children in schools starting next week.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange also issued a public letter informing school boards they no longer have the power to override the directive and order students to wear masks in school or on school buses.
Schilling said school boards were initially handed the autonomy last fall.
LaGrange said there has been a downward trend in the number of Alberta schools that have shifted to at-home learning over the last few weeks due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
"At the peak of the fifth wave, there were 29 schools that were shifted to at-home learning, and today, only seven of the over 2,500-plus schools in our province remain learning at home."
Premier Jason Kenney tweeted Tuesday he found it "disturbing to see that the teachers' union thinks unmasked kids create 'an unsafe workplace' and is threatening legal action to force kids to wear masks indefinitely."
"Almost all Alberta teachers are triple vaccinated. Treat kids like kids, not 'unsafe' vectors of transmission."
Trisha Estabrooks, the chair of Edmonton Public Schools, said the district plans to tell the parents of its 105,000-plus students that masks are still encouraged because she's concerned there will be more spread of the virus.
"We're seeing a downward trend in terms of self-reported cases of COVID in our school but, to remove a layer of protection for our students and staff in the midst of not seeing high vaccination uptakes in kids five to 11 years of age, and not having even a vaccine for kids under the age of five, it may be at risk," she said.
"It's too much too fast."
Estabrooks said the government's masking announcement is a "nightmare" because many parents decided to send their kids to school in-person instead of enrolling them into online learning due to protocols such as a mask mandate that was promised by the school board.
"Parents have had a lot of faith in our back-to-school plan," Estabrooks said.
"The protocols gave parents a lot of confidence. Now, it's a very different story. You can imagine, for a school division this size, to allow additional families to now switch to online is pretty much impossible."
Estabrooks said she's frustrated that school boards were not consulted by the government and noted her email inbox is filling up with messages from concerned parents.
"There is a level of politics that is at play in this pandemic. It has been at play the entire two years that we've been through this and that's all I'm gonna say on that."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2022.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
EDMONTON — The president of the Alberta Teachers' Association says it is exploring legal options after the province announced it will lift the mask mandate in classrooms and take away power from school boards that disagree with the decision to implement their own rules.
Jason Schilling said Wednesday it's too soon to say whether individual teachers will take legal action against the government but it is talking to its lawyers about teachers who may have occupational health and safety concerns.
"The association will look at all the avenues that we have available to us in order to make sure that our teachers are working in a healthy and safe atmosphere and environment," Schilling said Wednesday.
"Teachers can look at their workspace, their classrooms, and say I don't feel safe here like every employee across the province."
The province announced Tuesday that mandatory mask rules will be cancelled for children under 12 in all settings and for all children in schools starting next week.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange also issued a public letter informing school boards they no longer have the power to override the directive and order students to wear masks in school or on school buses.
Schilling said school boards were initially handed the autonomy last fall.
LaGrange said there has been a downward trend in the number of Alberta schools that have shifted to at-home learning over the last few weeks due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
"At the peak of the fifth wave, there were 29 schools that were shifted to at-home learning, and today, only seven of the over 2,500-plus schools in our province remain learning at home."
Premier Jason Kenney tweeted Tuesday he found it "disturbing to see that the teachers' union thinks unmasked kids create 'an unsafe workplace' and is threatening legal action to force kids to wear masks indefinitely."
"Almost all Alberta teachers are triple vaccinated. Treat kids like kids, not 'unsafe' vectors of transmission."
Trisha Estabrooks, the chair of Edmonton Public Schools, said the district plans to tell the parents of its 105,000-plus students that masks are still encouraged because she's concerned there will be more spread of the virus.
"We're seeing a downward trend in terms of self-reported cases of COVID in our school but, to remove a layer of protection for our students and staff in the midst of not seeing high vaccination uptakes in kids five to 11 years of age, and not having even a vaccine for kids under the age of five, it may be at risk," she said.
"It's too much too fast."
Estabrooks said the government's masking announcement is a "nightmare" because many parents decided to send their kids to school in-person instead of enrolling them into online learning due to protocols such as a mask mandate that was promised by the school board.
"Parents have had a lot of faith in our back-to-school plan," Estabrooks said.
"The protocols gave parents a lot of confidence. Now, it's a very different story. You can imagine, for a school division this size, to allow additional families to now switch to online is pretty much impossible."
Estabrooks said she's frustrated that school boards were not consulted by the government and noted her email inbox is filling up with messages from concerned parents.
"There is a level of politics that is at play in this pandemic. It has been at play the entire two years that we've been through this and that's all I'm gonna say on that."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2022.
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
Kellen Taniguchi - Yesterday
Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
Alberta’s advanced education minister is expecting students to return to post-secondary campuses in March without having to provide proof of vaccination or wear a mask.
© Provided by Edmonton JournalAdvanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.
In a letter sent to all Alberta post-secondary institutions on Wednesday, Demetrios Nicolaides said he expects schools to “align” their COVID-19 policies and practices with the Alberta’s government.
On Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney announced the immediate lifting of the province’s Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) and the possibility of more restrictions being lifted next month.
“Essentially, post-secondary institutions will have the full ability to return to pre-pandemic delivery without the need to enforce physical distancing, implement proof of vaccination programs and masking effective March 1,” Nicolaides said in the letter.
“Like you, I am eager to see students returning to in-person learning without masking and proof of vaccination requirements this March.”
‘Nobody is asking for this’: students’ union reacts to the minster’s letter
Rowan Ley, president of the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU), said early results from a student survey suggests students do not support the minister’s letter suggesting a return to campus with no masks or proof of vaccination.
U of A students can access the survey online and as of 6 p.m., 140 students responded and Ley said the response has been quite negative.
“The preliminary results, which I don’t expect will change very much, is that 56 per cent of students strongly do not support the minister’s decision, 22 per cent don’t support, 14 per cent are unsure, four per cent support and three per cent strongly support,” Ley told Postmedia. “So, just for context, that’s only seven per cent of students who support the minister’s decision.”
Ley said this is not a decision that should have been made without consulting students and universities, and it’s a decision that creates a lot of “instability and chaos” when students need stability.
“Students really did not have a problem with mask and vaccine requirements, like, nobody is asking for this,” he said. “They were minimally inconvenient and were a way to help keep people safe, including a lot of immunocompromised classmates or elderly instructors,” said Ley.
The University of Alberta has postponed in-person learning until Feb. 28 and MacEwan University has delayed its return to the classroom until Feb. 22.
In a Tuesday update, the U of A said there will be “no immediate changes” to its current U of A campus safety measures, including its CampusReady System.
The university said the CampusReady system is not part of the government’s REP. The system currently requires students and staff to upload their proof of vaccination or exemption and have a CampusReady pass before accessing any U of A campus or facility.
ktaniguchi@postmedia.com
twitter.com/kellentaniguchi
'Gutted:' Edmonton business owners on Alberta ending vaccine passports
Hamdi Issawi - Yesterday
Edmonton Journal
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
‘Feels a bit like Groundhog Day’
Far less optimistic than he was during the first round of restrictions almost two years ago, restauranteur Paul Shufelt said he’s still “anxiously hopeful” about the end of the program after yet another wave of COVID-19 infections, and waxing and waning public health guidelines.
“I do feel like this is a move in the right direction, to getting back to some sort of normal, but there still is a sort of stress,” he said. “Is this 100 per cent the right thing to do right now? Is this the last time we’re going to be doing this? It definitely feels a little bit like Groundhog Day.”
As the owner of Robert Spencer Hospitality, the company is behind a handful of restaurants including Woodshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers, Shufelt said he’s been trying to strike a balance that keeps restaurant doors open and both staff and guests safe. But he said he’s not reckoning with public health measures so much as consumer confidence.
“I think it has less to do with REP being in place or not,” he said. “I think it has more to do with the ebb and flow of the virus and people feeling uncomfortable going out to all of a sudden not feeling comfortable again.”
In the meantime, Shufelt plans to comply with the program’s cancellation guidelines, “but we’ll be ready, if that has to come back into place,” he said.
Jeffrey Sundquist, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said while both consumer and business confidence are key components to getting Alberta’s economy back on track, the end of the program is a complex issue, and one that will affect every business differently.
However, he added, businesses should also be able to maintain point-of-entry protocols and validate vaccination status as they did with the program.
“The infrastructure is already there, and we’ve asked a lot of our frontline workers over the last two years,” he said. “If the proprietor feels that that is the right way forward, then that’s fair under these new guidelines.”
‘Cart before the horse’
Action Potential Fitness co-owner Zita Dubé-Lockhart co-owns a gymnasium business through the changing COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the provincial government. The gym has a mandatory vaccination program to keep their clients safe.
Members of Edmonton’s business community are confused, crestfallen and cautiously optimistic about the end of Alberta’s vaccine passport program.
Hamdi Issawi - Yesterday
Edmonton Journal
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
Paul Shufelt, owner of Workshop Eatery in southeast Edmonton.
Tuesday evening, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney notified the province less than seven hours before nixing the restrictions exemption program (REP), which was implemented in September and designed to encourage immunization uptake amid vaccine hesitancy while also giving consumers confidence to stimulate a lagging economy.
Other restrictions affecting entertainment venues, such as limiting liquor sales after 11 p.m. and barring social activities such as dancing or mingling between tables, are set to lift March 1, so long as hospitalizations connected to COVID-19 infections trend downward.
Kris Harvey, operating partner of Chvrch of John, a bar and entertainment venue in Downtown Edmonton, said the decision to end the program left him “gutted,” especially since the last round of restrictions imposed before Christmas have effectively shuttered his business, which makes the bulk of its sales after 10 p.m.
“It’s a completely backwards way of operating,” Harvey said. “What they’re doing is pandering to an unvaccinated population that has given us the reason to have the restrictions exemption program in the first place.”
He would rather see the province keep the program and ease restrictions that have paralyzed businesses like his in the hospitality industry.
“That would have been a better, thoughtful process that prioritizes a business’s employees and the people who are involved,” Harvey said, noting that he’s had to lay off his staff while paying rent without revenue. “Instead, they went the other way and we’re still not able to employ people for the next three weeks.”
The only silver lining, he added, is that there’s hope on the horizon for a reopening date, and some time to prepare for it.
Tuesday evening, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney notified the province less than seven hours before nixing the restrictions exemption program (REP), which was implemented in September and designed to encourage immunization uptake amid vaccine hesitancy while also giving consumers confidence to stimulate a lagging economy.
Other restrictions affecting entertainment venues, such as limiting liquor sales after 11 p.m. and barring social activities such as dancing or mingling between tables, are set to lift March 1, so long as hospitalizations connected to COVID-19 infections trend downward.
Kris Harvey, operating partner of Chvrch of John, a bar and entertainment venue in Downtown Edmonton, said the decision to end the program left him “gutted,” especially since the last round of restrictions imposed before Christmas have effectively shuttered his business, which makes the bulk of its sales after 10 p.m.
“It’s a completely backwards way of operating,” Harvey said. “What they’re doing is pandering to an unvaccinated population that has given us the reason to have the restrictions exemption program in the first place.”
He would rather see the province keep the program and ease restrictions that have paralyzed businesses like his in the hospitality industry.
“That would have been a better, thoughtful process that prioritizes a business’s employees and the people who are involved,” Harvey said, noting that he’s had to lay off his staff while paying rent without revenue. “Instead, they went the other way and we’re still not able to employ people for the next three weeks.”
The only silver lining, he added, is that there’s hope on the horizon for a reopening date, and some time to prepare for it.
‘Feels a bit like Groundhog Day’
Far less optimistic than he was during the first round of restrictions almost two years ago, restauranteur Paul Shufelt said he’s still “anxiously hopeful” about the end of the program after yet another wave of COVID-19 infections, and waxing and waning public health guidelines.
“I do feel like this is a move in the right direction, to getting back to some sort of normal, but there still is a sort of stress,” he said. “Is this 100 per cent the right thing to do right now? Is this the last time we’re going to be doing this? It definitely feels a little bit like Groundhog Day.”
As the owner of Robert Spencer Hospitality, the company is behind a handful of restaurants including Woodshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers, Shufelt said he’s been trying to strike a balance that keeps restaurant doors open and both staff and guests safe. But he said he’s not reckoning with public health measures so much as consumer confidence.
“I think it has less to do with REP being in place or not,” he said. “I think it has more to do with the ebb and flow of the virus and people feeling uncomfortable going out to all of a sudden not feeling comfortable again.”
In the meantime, Shufelt plans to comply with the program’s cancellation guidelines, “but we’ll be ready, if that has to come back into place,” he said.
Jeffrey Sundquist, president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, said while both consumer and business confidence are key components to getting Alberta’s economy back on track, the end of the program is a complex issue, and one that will affect every business differently.
However, he added, businesses should also be able to maintain point-of-entry protocols and validate vaccination status as they did with the program.
“The infrastructure is already there, and we’ve asked a lot of our frontline workers over the last two years,” he said. “If the proprietor feels that that is the right way forward, then that’s fair under these new guidelines.”
‘Cart before the horse’
Action Potential Fitness co-owner Zita Dubé-Lockhart co-owns a gymnasium business through the changing COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the provincial government. The gym has a mandatory vaccination program to keep their clients safe.
Ian Kucerak/Postmedia
Zita Dubé-Lockhart, for one, has decided to hold off on making any changes for the time being.
“What is frustrating is the insistence on giving us no notice, and putting us in a position where we have to incessantly kind of pivot our businesses without any sort of direction or knowledge,” she said. “Giving businesses less than seven hours to prepare for this felt cruel — not even difficult, but cruel.”
As the co-owner of Action Potential Fitness, a boutique gym in west Edmonton, she’s keeping an eye on Edmonton city council, which is considering its own proof of vaccination program.
“We might have to change things all over again,” she said. “So it feels like the cart was put before the horse. It feels like this was really poorly rolled out, and it feels really disrespectful as a business owner.”
hissawi@postmedia.com
@hamdiissawi
Zita Dubé-Lockhart, for one, has decided to hold off on making any changes for the time being.
“What is frustrating is the insistence on giving us no notice, and putting us in a position where we have to incessantly kind of pivot our businesses without any sort of direction or knowledge,” she said. “Giving businesses less than seven hours to prepare for this felt cruel — not even difficult, but cruel.”
As the co-owner of Action Potential Fitness, a boutique gym in west Edmonton, she’s keeping an eye on Edmonton city council, which is considering its own proof of vaccination program.
“We might have to change things all over again,” she said. “So it feels like the cart was put before the horse. It feels like this was really poorly rolled out, and it feels really disrespectful as a business owner.”
hissawi@postmedia.com
@hamdiissawi
