Ready or not, businesses in Quinte West — and throughout Ontario — will be entering a new chapter in the COVID-19 pandemic with the introduction of proof of vaccination requirements.
The new government policy on vaccination, enacted to minimize case counts associated with the Delta-variant-driven fourth wave of the pandemic, is divisive and overly burdensome to businesses, said Quinte West Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Andrews.
Businesses, however, are duty-bound to carry out the policy in Ontario, she added.
“There is no clear answer to support it or not to support it. I think at the end of the day businesses have been mandated to do this, they don’t have a choice, and I hope people will continue to be kind and to find ways to support businesses even if you don’t agree with the passports,” said Andrews.
Starting today, proof of vaccination is required to enter select businesses and indoor settings in Ontario.
Initially it will mean proof of full vaccination as well as a government ID, but by Oct. 22 the Province will be offering an enhanced digital vaccine receipt that features a QR code that can be easily shown on a smartphone. The Province, at that time, will launch a new app to make it easier for businesses to read and verify the digital vaccine receipt is valid.
The list of venues the new proof of vaccination will cover includes the following:
• • Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, as well as delivery and takeout);
• • Nightclubs (including outdoor areas of the establishment);
• • Meeting and event spaces, such as banquet halls and conference/convention centres;
• • Facilities used for sports and fitness activities and personal fitness training, such
• as gyms, fitness and recreational facilities with the exception of youth recreational sport;
• • Sporting events;
• • Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments;
• • Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas;
• • Strip clubs, bathhouses and sex clubs;
• • Racing venues (e.g., horse racing).
Andrews said she’s sympathetic to the business community that’s being asked to navigate another obstacle associated with the pandemic.
“I think many of us had hoped it wasn’t going to come to that and for every person that’s against it there’s probably seven or eight that are in support of it,” she said. “So, it’s definitely a divisive issue and small businesses are again being caught in the middle and being asked to be the gatekeeper on behalf of a government regulation. And, I know for many of them, it’s been a hard last year and a bit and the last thing they want to be doing is turning customers away, but at the end of the day, the health and safety of the majority is definitely a priority for many. For every customer who’s going to be angry about it there are others who will be safer going inside to eat at a restaurant knowing those eating around them are vaccinated.”
Andrews said the chief concern she’s heard from business owners is extra staffing required to screen those entering a business with proof of vaccination and the costs associated with it.
“The tourism and hospitality sectors, restaurants or event spaces or things like that have been hard hit by the pandemic and they’ve had a really hard time getting back to full staffing levels once they were allowed to be open,” she said. “But then now to find and pay an additional staff member to screen vaccine passports is just another expense and another inconvenience for them, especially when they’re trying to manage with understaffing situations.”
Andrews lamented the Ontario government could have made it easier on small businesses had it delayed the introduction of the vaccine passports until it had established the QR code and the app for businesses. As it stands, the chamber network has urged the government to ensure the app is in place as quickly as possible. In the interim, though, the vaccine certificates will be cumbersome.
“Anybody working at a business that is in the position of having to screen people could quickly scan the QR code and that would quickly let them know whether they could come in or no they can’t. Now, they have to produce a paper or digital copy of their receipt plus ID and that person will have to check the ID to make sure that the name and date of birth are both the same. You can imagine that it’s going to take a little bit of work,” said Andrews.
Andrews notes COVID-19 vaccine uptake is high in Quinte West, with more than 80 per cent of residents having one shot and almost 80 per cent having second shots, so they won’t be denied access to venues. She suspects, however, there will be some anger in the community regarding vaccine passports, and it will likely be played out on social media.
“There is going to be a very vocal minority of people in our community that are going to be angry, I’m just asking that they not be angry at the businesses themselves. Those businesses are being mandated, it’s legislation, they have to comply, so make sure you’re taking your anger out on the legislators, and not on the business people,” she said.
