'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
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
Toronto eliminated from PWHL playoffs
Toronto has been eliminated from the PWHL playoffs.
Information commissioner faces $700K funding shortfall, says system is 'overwhelmed'
Canada's information commissioner says her office is facing a $700,000 funding shortfall that could impact its ability to investigate complaints about government transparency and accountability.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.