HUMBOLDT — Brent Fitzpatrick, executive director with the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce, said he expects the provincial lifting of the vaccine requirement to have a positive impact on the local business community.
On Feb. 8, the province announced that the provincial requirement to provide proof of vaccination or negative tests in businesses, workplaces and other public venues will end on Feb. 14 at 12:01 a.m.
The remaining public health orders requiring masking in indoor public spaces will remain in effect until the end of February.
“I think it’s a great thing,” Fitzpatrick said. “With this change it means kind of a turning point for the pandemic and our response to it to today. We did experience a lifting of the restrictions last year and it was literally a moment of inhalation for a lot of businesses.”
As part of the change, Premier Scott Moe said on Feb. 8 that the province will be removing any legal provisions that protect businesses when they ask customers for proof of vaccination.
Fitzpatrick said the chamber will continue supporting local businesses on placing their own mask mandates to keep staff safe.
“If they would like to keep in some of those restrictions whether they be seating capacity or distancing or masks or whatever they feel is prudent for their businesses they do have the ability to do that,” he said. “Every business is unique and it is entirely up to them for how they wish to respond to it.”
Businesses requiring proof of vaccination
Since Oct. 1, businesses that were required to ask for proof of vaccination include restaurants, nightclubs, bars, taverns, manufacturer hospitality suites, buses and other establishments and transportation licensed by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority for the sale and service of alcohol, as well as liquor and cannabis stores.
Both Sobeys Liquor and Tweed applauded the requirement lifting.
Sara Pascal, shop manager with Humboldt Tweed, said that a result of the requirement, staff have received pushback and resistance from members of the public, as well as a loss of business.
“We’re actually very happy because now we can service our guests the way that we intended, that we always wanted to,” Pascal said. “The only reason that we had it implemented in the first place is because we are government regulated, it was forced upon us.”
RaeAnn Thibault, general manager with Sobeys Liquor, said that the biggest impact was on sales. While there was a noticeable increase in customer traffic during the beginning of the pandemic, when it was considered an essential service, when the vaccine requirement was introduced that dropped.
“With our sales increasing so much during COVID it was hard to tell the drop as well, but we did see less customers, our customer count was a little lower,” Thibault said.
“When they started putting up the mandate for proof of vax we had to follow which we were a little surprised about because originally we were essential, and they say essential services don’t have to require that.”
