Since Monday, customers of big-box stores must present their vaccination passport before entering to shop. On this first day, as they lined up in the cold, consumers interviewed by The Press had, for the most part, resigned themselves to this new rule. If this beginning of the week took place without too many incidents, traders want the imposition of the passport to be short-lived.
Posted at 12:34 p.m.
Updated at 4:21 p.m.
On Monday morning, at the entrance to the Costco store in the Central Market, online customers were rummaging through their pockets or purses with their bare hands to pull out their phones and IDs as a bundled up employee told them to prepare to take out their documents.
Most of them waited quietly with their basket before they could enter. In front of the door, a man had however decided to show his displeasure by shouting after the employee on the spot. Member of Costco for years, he repeated, he said he did not understand why this regulation was imposed. Store officials tried to calm him down. “We are only respecting the law”, he was reminded while asking him to leave the premises. He complied after a few minutes. Police cars were circulating all over the Central Market.
Online, Rouba Fatima Zohra had no problem with the idea of presenting her vaccine passport. However, she had a thought for the poor and unvaccinated people. “My neighbor is an old lady, she hasn’t received her vaccinations, so she asked me to come buy her things. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Rouba Fatima Zohra
At the Home Depot branch on Beaubien Street in Mile-Ex, the security guard with a smart phone was by far the busiest employee in the store. At times, the line reached a dozen people, but everything moved smoothly. “I think it’s a correct measurement,” said Michael Winder. Store employees, they don’t make a fortune, and it’s a good thing they’re protected. »
A Montrealer who is not vaccinated by choice told The Press that he perceived this new measure as “harassment” towards part of the population. “At all times, the unvaccinated have never been separated from the vaccinated. It’s unscientific. Especially since we now know that vaccines do not stop the spread. The constraints do not encourage him to go get vaccinated either, he concluded.
At the exit of the Canadian Tire store on Crémazie Boulevard, the reaction of customers was mixed. “It’s stupid, it’s ridiculous, that’s enough! “Dropped a father who came to buy a sled with his two children, before rushing into his car.
“It didn’t bother me at all,” said Nadia Podhorecki. The staff is courteous, so it was friendly. »
“It’s not an easy measure to implement for the various merchants,” said Éric McDonald as he left with his baby sitting in a cart. They do that well. I knew it was starting this morning [lundi]. I follow the press briefings. »
a little impatient
Retailers, for their part, assure that few incidents have occurred, but nevertheless noted a certain impatience on the part of customers who waited in line in freezing weather. “It’s still going relatively well. It’s not a disaster, assures Paul-André Goulet, owner of 10 Sports Experts stores, who adds in the process that customers have resigned themselves. We feel a certain impatience in the population, he maintains, however. And that just adds a layer. »
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
All businesses with an area of more than 1,500 square meters, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies, must now require the vaccination passport.
Surprisingly, Mr. Goulet noted, however, that many customers were unaware that they would have to show their credentials before entering the store.
“Fortunately, merchants are ready,” said Michel Rochette, president for Quebec of the Retail Council of Canada (RCCC), which represents several major brands such as Costco and Walmart. The issue remains whole on the availability of the workforce. »
He recalls in particular that customers who are not adequately vaccinated and who need to go to a pharmacy located in a large area will be able to access it by being accompanied by an employee from the entrance to the exit. “We want it to be as temporary as possible,” said Mr. Rochette.
“I have two or three retailers who called me to tell me that there were people who were a little frustrated, but nothing dramatic, nothing to report to the police, indicates Jean-Guy Côté, general manager of the Quebec Council retail trade (CQCD). Monday morning is not a big time for retail. It’s going to be something else on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. »
All businesses with an area of more than 1,500 square meters, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies, must now require the vaccination passport. Last week, the Quebec Hardware and Building Materials Association (AQMAT) said the government was on the wrong track. In a survey, nearly 69% of members said they opposed the imposition of the vaccine passport in their store. The president of the Renaud-Bray group, Blaise Renaud, had also asked the government to exempt the book industry.
With Nicolas Bérubé, The Press