A movement of discontent is spreading in Quebec among restaurateurs, who are demanding the opening of their restaurant as soon as possible, failing which many of them will have to put the key under the door.
Among them, a pastry chef from Jonquière, in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Stéphanie Hariot, exasperated by the repercussions of the obligation to close her business on her finances, decided to defy the rules and open her room to eat to its customers, who showed up in large numbers.
Mme Hariot denies being a conspirator, alleging that she has always respected health standards in her pastry, namely hand washing, distancing, wearing a mask and the vaccine passport. “I’m not defying health rules, I’m defying the closure of my livelihood,” she says.
The pastry chef says she has always been an honest taxpayer and has always paid her taxes, adding that she refuses to pay for a healthcare system that has been outdated for decades knowing that no government, no matter either, has not managed to fix the problem since then.
However, the element that pushed Stéphanie Hariot to exasperation was the closing on Sundays, while the branches of the big banners, such as Tim Hortons, A&W, McDonald’s, remained open. “Enough is enough!” she thought to herself. Even if she fears the closure of her business, she does not intend to change her mind and assures that she will no longer close her dining room. “I remain open now, against all odds. And not just today. It is final, I will no longer close my dining room, ”assures Ms. Hariot.
Stéphanie Hariot does not call on restaurateurs to dissent and does not deny the pandemic. In my eyes, she embodies a sympathetic “delinquent” who has always complied with sanitary measures, and who has never had to declare any outbreak in her business, like the vast majority of restaurateurs. I am of the opinion that François Legault should allow the reopening of restaurants at 50% of their capacity within a reasonable time… It is a simple matter of common sense!