As the province gets ready for the vaccine passports to become a part of everyday reality, the head of the local chamber of commerce believes it will be a good thing, but also hopes businesses won't be dealing with angry customers.
As announced on Wednesday, Ontario will require residents aged 12 and older to show their vaccine receipt and a piece of government-issued photo ID starting Sept. 22 in order to access the indoor areas of restaurants and bars, nightclubs, meeting and event spaces, gyms and theatres.
As of Oct. 22, residents will receive a QR code that will serve as proof of vaccination, which businesses can scan using a government app.
Proof of vaccination will not be required to access services including retail stores and hair salons.
“This is something I see as a positive for businesses because if it keeps us open — that's good for the economy, the staff and the consumer,” Barrie Chamber of Commerce executive director Paul Markle told BarrieToday on Saturday.
Markle says he knows concerns have been raised about the vaccination cards and what it means to individual rights, but reminds people that businesses “are not trying to get in the middle of that.”
“We support the movement that (Ontario Premier) Doug Ford made with this. Having said that, businesses are struggling with staffing issues nowadays,” he said. “Some are having a hard time just opening their restaurants, let alone going to have to police the front doors.
"No one wants to get into a confrontation with a customer that wants to come, but the restaurant is trying to follow the guidelines," Markle added.
While Markle said he was relieved the provincial government implemented the vaccination passports, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) was ready should the province had not acted.
“The Ontario chamber had previously come out with a Vax-Pass Tenet, which is basically a guideline for businesses. The chamber just wanted to have a set of guidelines ready in case businesses needed to have the framework for such a thing in place,” he said.
The tenet was based on five categories: safety, science, accommodation, privacy, and transparency.
Markle hopes everyone follows follows the public health guidelines in order to prevent another shutdown, one he says could be the end of more businesses.
“Another one would be it. You ask any restaurant, hair salon, anyone really,” said Markle. “This passport policy is to help businesses survive and to keep the numbers down. I hope people understand that and if they’re looking to help small businesses, this is how.
“ As I’ve said before, they’re still building the plane while trying to fly it,” he added. “They haven't amended the reopening rules as of yet. If a whole restaurant is double-vaxxed, one would think the capacity could rise, but they haven’t announced anything as of yet and it's doubtful we’ll know anything before October.”
On Friday, Ford announced that he had prorogued the provincial legislature until Oct. 4, essentially ending any work from being done by the province until that date.
