Quebec bars and restaurants demand to go to full capacity; minister asks for patience
Quebec's restaurant and bar industry wants the government to ease health measures, now that it has done so for the province's cultural sector.
The new association of bars in Quebec (NABQ) is asking the government for a little reprieve to help restaurants and bars hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In particular, the association is asking that restaurants and bars be allowed to open at maximum capacity -- and until 3 a.m.
"We are asking the Quebec government, and in particular, Quebec Public Health, to be consistent," said NABQ President Pierre Thibault.
"If 22,000 people can be side by side in a venue like the Bell Centre with 10 centimetres of distance between them, we should also allow restaurants and bars to have the permitted capacity of their establishments under the same conditions."
On Monday, when the question was put to Health Minister Christian Dubé, he asked for patience.
"I understand very clearly that restaurant owners and bar owners, they want to lift those limitations," he said at a press conference on another matter.
"But I think we need to go through this month of October... [step] by step."
For example, expanding capacity at theatres, as the government recently announced, is "a big step," he said.
"Let's see, a couple of weeks out, how things go."
He added that Public Health "is committed" that each week, if the current stabilization continues, it will ease another rule.
The bar association said that establishments in the province have been following guidelines, making sure anyone who walks into their establishments shows proof of COVID-19 vaccination and other rules.
"It should also be remembered, as an example, that countries such as France, Belgium and Spain have allowed their businesses, from day one of the vaccine passport, to operate without any constraint on their capacity or hours of operation, unlike in Quebec," the association added.
According to Thibault, the industry will be most likely suffer a "knockout" that will prevent it from recovering if the requested relief is not granted.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 4, 2021, with files from CTV News.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there's a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.