Laser City co-founder Brittany Anderson stands for a portrait at the Laser City South Calgary location on Sept. 24.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
As vaccine mandates come into effect across the country, it has fallen on the shoulders of small businesses to manage the day-to-day rollout. And as rules continue to evolve, businesses say they are having a hard time keeping up.
By early October, every province will have instituted its own policy that requires customers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to access high-contact indoor services such as dining, physical fitness and entertainment.
In Ontario, the system came into effect last Wednesday. Small businesses had hoped the new regime would be coupled with a relaxation of indoor capacity limits, since all patrons would be fully vaccinated.
Instead, on Friday afternoon, the province announced capacity limits would increase only for very large venues, such as the Rogers Centre, where up to 30,000 fans can now watch the Toronto Blue Jays play.
“If you’re a gym owner and you’re still at 50-per-cent capacity come January, February, when you traditionally get that big New Year’s resolution crowd coming in, that will be crushing,” said Ryan Mallough, senior director of provincial affairs for Ontario with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
In Alberta, businesses such as restaurants and recreation centres were given a choice starting Sept. 20: to either opt in to the Restrictions Exemption Program and ask customers aged 12 and older for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, or keep indoor activities closed or severely limited (depending on the type of activity).
Businesses were given just a few days to decide. Brittany Anderson, owner of Laser City, which runs three laser tag venues in Edmonton and Calgary, said she was flooded with calls from parents with questions about the new policy. She chose to opt in to the program. Although about a dozen groups cancelled – either because they had not yet all been vaccinated or because they opposed the new rules – it was either that or close down again, she said.
“For me, it’s either I choose the vaccine passport program, or I cancel dozens and dozens of kids’ birthday parties,” Ms. Anderson said.
Karen Richert, who owns the Leduc Coffee Shop in Leduc, Alta., said she chose to opt out of the program and close her indoor dining because most of her clients opposed the policy. Instead, she’s stuck to takeout and allowing customers to sit on her patio. She said she’s been overwhelmed by local support since her café announced its position earlier this week.
“A lady came, bought a cup of coffee, left a hundred dollar tip on there, and said, ‘I appreciate what you guys are doing,’ ” Ms. Richert said. “I think people have had enough division.”
Some businesses in provinces such as Saskatchewan, where a mandate comes into effect Oct. 1, say they appreciate not being given a choice. “You can just imagine, you have an 18-year-old, part-time employee trying to enforce a sometimes unpopular rule,” said Dean Dodge, chief executive officer of the Saskatoon YMCA. “It has a lot more strength when it’s a mandate from the government.”
Harassment of front-line service workers has been a concern, though businesses and industry groups that spoke with The Globe and Mail said the vast majority of customers have been respectful.
“Obviously, I think you’d have to be living under a rock not to know all this is going down,” said Frank Naccarato, owner of Frankie’s Modern Diner in Victoria, which has had a vaccine mandate since Sept. 13. “Nobody ever seems surprised when we’re asking them.”
But the confrontations don’t only come in-person – they can also appear online. Aleksander Saiyan, the owner of Toronto Salsa Dance, says his business received six one-star reviews on Google after it announced this summer it would require dance students to be fully vaccinated to come to class.
Mr. Saiyan said he had no record of those reviewers having ever taken one of his classes. He said he sent his concerns to Google, which removed two of the six reviews.
A spokesperson for Google said the company wants to protect business owners from abuse and fake reviews, but providing information about vaccine passports can be useful to customers.
“As more businesses around the world institute policies regarding proof of vaccination status, we’re also seeing more reviews related to this information, which can help others determine whether or not they feel comfortable going there,” Google spokesperson Luiza Staniec said in a statement.
Manitoba and Quebec were the first provinces to institute vaccine passport systems, on Sept. 3 and Sept. 1, respectively. Barry Cooper, president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce said confrontations with customers have declined over the past few weeks as everyone becomes more used to the new system.
“Everyone is moving through this at different speeds,” Mr. Cooper said. “We have to find ways to work with them. We have to find ways to be kind.”
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