Pressure is mounting on the Legault government to quickly give the green light to the reopening of dining rooms. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, restaurateurs and business people are calling for a resumption of activities as soon as possible.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
“We, that’s what we’re looking for: a quick announcement, with a date,” says Martin Vézina, director of public and governmental affairs for the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ). Mr. Vézina did not fail to recall the relaxations announced in Ontario on Thursday which will allow restaurateurs to resume their activities on January 31.
If he is counting on February 8 to allow his members to be ready to welcome customers for the lucrative Valentine’s Day, Mr. Vézina affirms that he “will not tear his shirt” if Quebec allows you to open before this date.
“Following the same logic on which you legitimize the reopening of schools and following the announcement of the upcoming opening of dining rooms in Ontario, we ask that you announce the reopening of restaurant dining rooms as soon as possible”, can -we read in a letter sent Thursday to Minister Dubé, that The Press was able to consult. It is signed by representatives of the ARQ, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the Association of Business Development Companies of Montreal (ASDCM) as well as two food distributors, Colabor and Gordon .
In the letter, it is recalled that only 14% of businesses in the accommodation and catering sector in the country “have returned to their normal income”. “The average debt for a restaurant with a dining room in Quebec averages $206,944,” we also write.
The signatories, who do not question the reopening of schools, wonder why the dining rooms, which applied strict sanitary measures, still cannot accommodate customers. “In the classrooms, the students wear their masks, but they eat snacks, they take off their masks, illustrates in an interview François Vincent, vice-president Quebec at the CFIB. And during lunchtime, there are hundreds of students going to be in gyms at the same time, with a lower vaccination rate than the general population. But we cannot open restaurants with family bubbles. Why ? he wonders. These are legitimate questions that must be answered. »
“We have to learn to live with an omnipresent Omicron,” Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Even if our health system is fragile, we must be able, as in Ontario, to plan and announce the reopening of restaurants, performance halls and sports halls for vaccinated people. »
Civil disobedience
Meanwhile, a movement of restaurateurs is taking shape to defy the rules and open on January 30. A pastry chef from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, who made her fed up loud and clear in the media, even gave her customers access to her dining room on Thursday and Friday.
“I strongly advise against participating in this movement,” says Mr. Vézina. “I understand the state of mind of the owners who have no foreseeability to rely on this gesture. But there are consequences for operators who participate in this, he warns. There are fines, there are possibilities of suspension of liquor licenses and if people have help from the provincial government, in the contract it is indicated that if there is an infraction of the Public Health Act, the regional county municipality (MRC) that manages the program can claim the assistance paid. »
The dining rooms have been closed since December 31.