Chamber promises to support businesses harassed because of new proof of vaccination requirement

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce says it wants to help businesses to deal with the harassment they may receive from some customers who don't want to follow the new rules, now that people in Ontario who are dining out or going to the gym will have to show proof of vaccination.

Some are calling it a vaccine passport, but currently people only need to show the proof of vaccination they received from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care when they got their second shot. The provincial government is still working on an app-based pass system, to be released at a later date.

Shabby Motley began confirming the proof of vaccination when seating dine-in customers Wednesday morning.

"When they come in to order that we ask if it’s 'for here' or 'to go' and if it's for here we just need to see their proof of vaccination and sign in," said cafe owner Ashleigh Sauve.

Shabby Motley has managed to stay open throughout the pandemic by pivoting every time the government introduces new rules and Sauve said this new proof of vaccination rule in no exception.

Sauve has kept in contact with Algoma public Health to ensure she understands the new rules.

“We just wanted to make sure that we only had to see the vaccine records of the people who are dining in. People who are coming to shop retail and the people who are coming in for takeout — we don’t need to ask them,” she said.

Jennifer Flood is a public health nurse with Algoma Public Health, working on its Healthy Workplaces campaign. She notes the new rules are coming down from the ministry but said her agency is trying to assist where it can when contacted by businesses and patrons alike.

“We are trying to work through it as best we can with them. We may not have all of the answers, but we try to brainstorm with them as much as possible,” said Flood.

One constant question is around enforcement.

“We are still trying to determine who is enforcing the passport at this point," said Flood. "Currently, it is up to the businesses to enforce it at a patron level. If there are concerns with people becoming unruly and not leaving the premises, then it would be enforced by local law enforcement."

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce says it is concerned some people attending gyms or dining out may not want to follow the new rules and may harass the staff who are put in the position to enforce them.

“This is another significant burden that is being placed upon those hardest hit sectors throughout the pandemic and we want them to know we are here to support them and that we can pass on their concerns,” said chamber CEO Rory Ring.

Ring said any business that experiences harassment due to the new rules can contact the chamber and those concerns will be passed on to the Ontario Chamber and the Government of Ontario.

If anyone is in immediate danger, they should contact police, said Ring.

“Businesses are seen to be left holding the bag and we want to make sure we are not only there for our members, but also the general business community, as well," said Ring.

This week, George Al Khoury made the difficult decision to close down in-person dining at his downtown restaurant Georgie's Shawarma on Elgin Street because of the new rules.

"You can’t host people when they are not in a good mood, if they are not happy you are not going to be happy as a business owner," said Al Khoury. "You have to be very kind, very open to greet the customer when they arrive, even if they only want to spend five dollars."

He figures he will lose about 40 per cent of his business immediately because of the change to offering take out and delivery only.

"I lose money by doing that, but I will cut some stress off and avoid some conflicts between us and customers and some people who unfortunately still don’t get vaccinated,” said Al Khoury. "I will lose a little bit but I will buy peace of mind,”

Al Khoury said his staff have faced customers who were not happy with mask-wearing rules and said the decision to close his dining room was a result of issues he anticipates would happen with some people not wanting to share their vaccination history.

"I need to hire more staff to track the people at the door and I am sure some conflicts will happen that will affect my business negatively, so I decided to close the dining area," said Al Khoury. 

The requirement for businesses to add more staff to check proof of vaccination is a common concern Ring is hearing from local businesses.

“Finding enough staff to operate normally has been a significant challenge in these industries that are being asked to implement the vaccine passport," said Ring.

“People have to respect the fact that these businesses are just implementing legislation that has been put forward by the province and they have very limited control," said Ring. “These folks that maybe feel their rights have been infringed up really have to be able to look at this perspective — these are just folks looking to do their job and they need to be given that benefit of the doubt and people need to remain courteous and respectful."

With only a few tables in the dining area at Shabby Motley, Sauve said the new rules shouldn't be a big issue.

“It’s obviously going to be even more challenging for bigger establishments. For us it is what it is," said Sauve. “Nobody is enjoying this, but we all want to see it through and I am just going to follow the advice of the health officials and do our part to finish it off."