'We have to confront our clients': Quebec bars and restaurants struggling with COVID-19 vaccine passport rollout
Two groups representing Quebec's bars and restaurants say that three weeks into the vaccine passport program, establishments have had enough and risk ruin if the government does not step in with financial assistance.
"The bar and restaurant industry is realizing the injustice of which it is still a victim!" reads a release signed by Renaud Poulin, Corporation des Propriétaires de Bars, Brasseries et Tavernes du Québec (CPBBTQ) president and l’Union des Tenanciers de Bars du Québec (UTBQ) president Peter Sergakis. "As if the previous waves of this pandemic were not enough, the owners of bars and restaurants must now face the economic downfall caused by this new health restriction!"
Brutopia brewpub managing partner Jeff Picard admits that the VaxiCode passport is one of the few tools to get young people vaccinated against COVID-19, but that implementing it has been a headache.
"It's a lot of stress, it's a lot of work for us," said Picard. "We have to confront our clients, we have to interrogate them instead of greeting them... It's just a bunch of extra work care of the pandemic."
The CPBBTQ and UTBQ say sales have dropped more than 40 per cent in the majority of the establishments they represent.
They say that bar owners' excitement at being allowed to reopen quickly evaporated "when they realized the considerable negative impacts that the implementation of the vaccine passport had on their profitability, to the point where many are considering closing their business(es) until this new sanitary restriction is permanently lifted."
The two organizations are asking Premier Francois Legault and Health Minister Christian Dube to begin offering financial assistance to those in the bar and restaurant industry.
"This obstinacy of the provincial government to ostracize our industry must stop!" the release reads.
"Otherwise, we might as well close our establishments, once again!" they said.
Picard admitted his sales are down as his staff's stress has risen, but also that it's a question of choosing the lesser of two evils.
"Honestly, it's very controversial, it's very divisive, but if we're going to have to choose against between shutting everything down for the winter and asking people to get the passport, I'm going to side with the passport," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.