“It was high time! These words sum up the general mood of bar owners who, although they are happy to be able to start serving drinks to their customers from February 28, would have liked to be able to resume their activities before this date. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 12% of bars have also ceased their activities permanently.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
“It took way too long,” spontaneously launches Renaud Poulin, president of the Corporation of Bar, Brewery and Tavern Owners of Quebec (CPBBT), less than an hour after the government announced its relaxation schedule, Tuesday. “We have a date, the 28th. We would have preferred before. We lose the best weekend of February with the Super Bowl, underlines Mr. Poulin, whose organization has 1,127 members. But at least we’re open. We know that on March 14, everything returns to normal. You will have to be a little patient. »
From February 28, bars that reopen will have to operate at 50% capacity. But from March 14, about two years after their first closure, they will be able to open 100%, and all health measures will be lifted, with the exception of the mask and the vaccine passport.
“I would say that I am reassured,” says Jacob Warren, co-owner of the Terminal and Verre Bouteille in Montreal. “I’m happy to have dates, I’m happy to be able to give information to my employees who, for their part, are having a very difficult time with this 5and wave there. »
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Portrait of Jacob Warren, co-owner of the Terminal and the Verre Bouteille, avenue Mont-Royal Est – opening of bars and deconfinement in Montreal
However, he wonders how big the financial aid will be. Mr. Warren estimates that it will be necessary because of the sanitary rules in force until March 14. “Opening a small bar at 50% capacity doesn’t make a lot of income, so from an entrepreneur’s point of view, I still have my concerns. »
The worse is yet to come
Although they have permission to restart their line of beers on tap, bar owners have lived and will continue to go through difficult times, according to Renaud Poulin. The CPBBT estimates that nearly 12% of bars have closed in the past two years. “It will be even harder in the next few weeks, the next few months. People are going to have to repay the loans. »
On the side of the New Association of Bars of Quebec (NABQ), the president, Pierre Thibault, also co-owner of the Taverne Saint-Sacrement, calculates to have lost about fifteen members during the last 45 days.
“We are really in the home stretch, and that’s where we lose the most, says the one whose association has 150 members across Quebec. »
Since the return of the Holidays, we feel that it is accentuated. It has never been so present as today, the number of people who give up, who close their business. Since the start of the crisis, it may have doubled. We feel shortness of breath.
Pierre Thibault, president of the New Association of Quebec Bars (NABQ)
For his part, despite the difficulties, Jacob Warren never considered dropping everything. “I had already made the decision that I was going to fight to the end to save these great companies and it’s the same for my partners, he says. As soon as we received the slap in the face, we said to ourselves that there was only one solution and that was to work very hard to get out of it. For us, it was never a question of closing. »
But Mr. Warren, like other owners interviewed, laments that bars are always the first establishments to close and the last to reopen. Many have often had the impression of being the forgotten ones.
“I sincerely believe that the health crisis will have contributed to the stigmatization of bars, unfortunately, advances Mr. Warren. I think it can do damage to our reputation. It’s going to take us a long time to restore our image, even if we haven’t done anything wrong. »
Retail business
In addition, among the relaxations announced by Quebec, businesses have learned for their part that they will no longer have to limit the number of customers by opening at 100% of their capacity from February 21. If the news is applauded, the joy of trade associations has however been clouded since the vaccine passport is maintained for stores of 1500 square meters and more, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies.
“Unfortunately, we are disappointed that there is no timetable for the withdrawal of the vaccine passport,” said the director general of the Quebec Council of retail trade (CQCD), Jean-Guy Côté. “Our retailers have to dedicate resources to this despite the labor shortage, in addition to having to deal with difficult customers. »
Same story on the side of the Retail Council of Canada (CCCD), where they say they are “worried” about maintaining the vaccine passport because of the “numerous altercations” it causes at the entrance to stores. “Customers in queues are more and more numerous and less and less patient, especially in businesses that distribute products deemed essential. Any discontent expressed by these impatient people is directed, sometimes violently, at the employees, who are simply enforcing the rules. Calls for calm are not currently enough to calm everyone’s minds,” said Michel Rochette, president of the CCCD for Quebec, in a press release.
Employers satisfied with the end of compulsory telework
Called for by Quebec employers and their federations, the end of compulsory telework is finally at their doorstep. They will be able to “take back the keys to their businesses” in a hybrid formula for the most part. “We are very satisfied,” said Charles Milliard, CEO of the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce, on the phone. “It’s a very reasonable approach, extended over time, that’s what we asked for. It will give companies and employees two weeks to prepare for a very gradual return. There is a collective anticipation, but I think it will drop the day people come back. For the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the February 28 date is too far away. “Why wait to allow employees to work in closed offices when we allow dozens of people to gather in classrooms? asks François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec at the CFIB. For her part, Laurence Vincent, president of Prével, maintains that employers will have to keep a sensitivity for employees who are not comfortable. “You have to make employees want to come back to work, not force them. We must bet on the pleasure of being together. Working in person makes all the difference,” she concludes.