The vaccine passport is imposed on Monday in big box stores in Quebec. This new measure, the terms of which remained unclear until the last minute, was not well received by several traders and some are considering not applying it immediately.
“It’s not going well,” says Richard Darveau, president of the Quebec Hardware and Building Materials Association (AQMAT), which represents 1,000 hardware stores in the province. “People will certainly comply, even if there will certainly be some strong heads, as is also the case in the population. Some rebel. But most will do with it, reluctantly, with a lot of incomprehension. »
The vaccination passport will become mandatory for all access to businesses with an area greater than 1,500 square meters (or just over 16,000 square feet). Grocery stores, pharmacies, common areas of a shopping center and gas stations are however excluded.
Without feeling a great movement of civil disobedience, Richard Darveau estimates that nearly one in ten members of his association “still think about the idea of not applying” the vaccine passport. “In my opinion, they are wrong,” he said. According to him, the recalcitrant will be for only 24 hours, “because there will be complaints” from properly vaccinated customers.
The ministerial decree to regulate the vaccine passport in supermarkets was published Sunday evening only, to the chagrin of traders, who were slow to know the legal details.
“People are preparing on the basis of what was said verbally during press briefings,” said Michel Rochette, president for Quebec of the Retail Council of Canada, which notably represents Walmart and Costco, when The duty spoke to him on Sunday afternoon. Prime Minister François Legault announced the new measure on January 13, and traders had been expecting the details to be released for a few days already.
In the decree published on the website of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), it is mentioned that it will also be allowed for a person without a vaccine passport to access a pharmacy located in a large area of more than 1500 square meters, provided that this person is accompanied at all times by an employee and that he only buys products “related to the pharmaceutical service he receives”.
Conflicts at entries?
However, the availability of employees is a problem. Canac, which has 31 hardware stores in the province, was quick enough to have a security officer stationed in each of its stores, which will help employees manage the vaccine passport. “Yes, we are ready to apply it, but are we in a hurry? No, ”drops Patrick Delisle, marketing director of Canac. “We will act to keep the queues as short as possible. On Saturdays, we have 2,000 people per store. »
A hundred devices have been purchased to allow employees to scan the vaccine passport. He estimates that the additional measures will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. AQMAT has calculated for its part that it would cost it 2,500 to 3,000 dollars per week per store.
Finding security guards and employees is difficult, however, given that there is a labor shortage and security companies like Garda are already overstretched. “It’s a challenge, last week was a big week, and the models will be a little different from one business to another, depending on the solutions that have been found”, mentions Jean-Guy Côté, director General of the Quebec Retail Trade Council.
“Everyone is trying to do their best to get there,” adds Michel Rochette. The will is there to try to apply what the government has asked for. »
Traders are also waiting to see if there will be any entry conflicts. “We want to avoid any tension at the gates. This is not a public health measure, it is a signal that the government wanted to send to the unvaccinated. It should be remembered that it is the employees who will wear it. We will have to see how people will react, ”says Michel Rochette.
For his part, Richard Darveau thinks that the anxiety of employees of small surface businesses will increase, as well as absenteeism. “If you are told that all the non-vaccinated will come to your small business, it may be that the employee is more nervous and absents himself”, he thinks. AQMAT has estimated that 75 to 80% of stores will not have to impose the vaccination passport.