From January 18, vaccine refractories will become persona non grata in SAQ and SQDC branches. A measure that the government intends to extend to other non-essential businesses to tighten the screws on the unvaccinated, who will have to fall back on the online business to obtain alcohol and cannabis sold by the state.
Security guards who already check the age of customers at the entrances to SQDC branches will have the task of checking vaccine passports. In SAQ branches, the application of the measure will be the responsibility of the clerks.
Fearing the “frustrations” and “aggressive behavior of certain customers”, the CSN, which represents SAQ employees, demands the hiring of security guards “in all branches from January 18”.
“If the unvaccinated are unhappy with this situation, there is a very simple solution,” Minister of Health Christian Dubé said at a press briefing on Thursday. It is to get vaccinated. “
Or to have the Internet. The SQDC admits that “proof of vaccination will not be required from people who purchase products online. “Ditto for the SAQ, which indicates that” concerning online orders, they will be possible with the option of home delivery for people who cannot present a vaccination passport. “
A measure applauded by some …
The government also plans to extend the QR code requirement to non-essential businesses, including personal care, namely hair and beauty salons.
The measure welcomes the main stakeholders contacted by The duty. Most of them were already asking their customers if they had been vaccinated twice before welcoming them.
“For most of us, we were happy because we have fairly close contact with customers,” says Virginie Daoust, manager of Chez Marcus, a hair salon located in lower Quebec City. The measure will require the company to hire a person responsible for controlling access, especially in the evening. “It’s hard to find people,” admits Ms. Daoust, who says she and her team were “surprised” that the passport requirement was not considered earlier in hair salons.
In Baie-Saint-Paul, Marie-Hélène Anctil, physiotherapist in a beauty and aesthetics salon of which she will soon become the owner, “finds it super correct and really very good” that the government plans to impose the vaccination passport on her. customer base. “It is a measure that will be applied to us, it is assured! »She emphasizes. Already, the beauty center where she works only accommodated people with double vaccinations inside the store.
“Before, the government did not allow us to require the vaccination passport,” explains Ms. Anctil. We asked for the vaccination status on a form, without being able to ask for proof. “Marie-Hélène Anctil’s living room has already had a problem with some unvaccinated recalcitrant – especially tourists,” she said. By dint of being around them, she learned to recognize them as soon as they arrived. “We have developed a strategy to avoid sticking with them. When we see unvaccinated people arriving, we apologize by telling them: ‘it’s complete!’ ‘”
The imposition of the vaccine passport would change nothing, or almost nothing, at the Basanerit aesthetic clinic in Rosemont. “We were already asking for the vaccination status of our customers at the entrance,” explains esthetician Jasmine Camarti. Staff did not require proof, but intend to start doing so if the government requires it. “The owner is a nurse and it is very important for us that everyone is vaccinated. “
… and decried by others
Other organizations deplore the government’s will. The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) denounces a measure that “adds additional pressure” to SMEs “when they are already operating at a slower pace and are heavily in debt”. The president of the CFIB, François Vincent, calls on the government of Quebec to “support them, in particular by financial compensation and by improving its management of PCR and rapid tests.” “
The Federation also questions the concrete application of the measure, while the line between what is essential and what is not remains diffuse.
“For example, is a shoe store selling winter boots essential or not essential? Asks CFIB.
The Quebec Retail Council (CQCD) agrees, criticizing a measure “difficult to apply, or even impossible to put in place for some traders. “
The CQCD is concerned that “with 25,000 positions to be filled […] adding this burden to Quebec retailers would be too heavy. “
In the opinion of the council, the obligation to be doubly vaccinated to access non-essential businesses would favor the web giants by forcing non-vaccinated customers to buy online.
“We ask the government not to consider the implementation of the compulsory vaccination passport in non-essential businesses”, concludes the association.