Alors que le gouvernement Legault travaille sur un plan qui viserait à exiger le passeport vaccinal pour entrer à la Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) et à la Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC), sequins’ sur quins’ pros’ quinsurs the list. However, this possibility is considered “difficult to implement” by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC).
“I feel like this is the next step. I think it’s just a matter of time,” says Anne Lesperance, owner of Belle et Rebelle and Ananas & Bananas clothing stores in Montreal.
At a press conference last week, Quebec Premier François Legault made no secret of his intention to find measures to persuade the unvaccinated to up their sleeve.
Although it intends to comply with this new restriction, if imposed by Quebec, Mr.I Lespérance asserts that this will increase the task of merchants greatly affected by the lack of labor. She’d like to see a way to directly target people who haven’t received a vaccine rather than taking measures that “punish everyone else,” she says.
“Like a lot of government decisions, it’s up to companies to get away with it overnight when ads drop,” she said. The work is a little more complicated. People come and go. Sometimes people come in for three minutes and go out. ”
In Plateau Mont-Royal, Manon Gauthier, vice president of shoe store Tony Pappas, believes that if the new measure goes into effect, it will be easier to manage at this time of year, since there is less traffic in January and February. On the other hand, in the spring, waiting lists are likely to be long, she warns.
For his part, the head of the CCCD in Quebec considered that checking the passport of vaccination is a very heavy responsibility for young workers who must sometimes encounter unhappy clients, when they are placed at the door.
“These are employees who will have to explain this to clients,” recalls Michael Rochet. We will put all of this in the hands of a small number of employees who will be required, without any particular tool other than their personal phones, to administer vaccine passports. Merchants are now on the verge of keeping enough staff afloat to handle supply and minimal customer service. In addition, there are waiting lists that employees have to manage. ”
Mr. Rochet also noted that the whole concept of basic commerce – where consumers will not be asked to show off – would be difficult to define. “Which business will be considered essential or not? I imagine that [le gouvernement] This commitment cannot be extended to food stores. ”
The CCCD has been in regular discussions with Quebec since the beginning of the epidemic. However, Michel Rochette remained conservative about the content of these exchanges. What did he say about the passport of vaccination? “Messages that [j’envoie] Now it is certainly given to the government,” he replied.
At the Council of Quebec Retail (CQCD), general manager Jean-Guy Cotet would not be surprised if the government imposed passports on customers of certain stores, which would amplify the employment problem. It is reported that there are currently more than 25,000 jobs to be filled in the sector in Quebec. He said, “We are not bad in the upper limits.”