Select Calgary-area restaurant owners unwilling to confirm vaccination status of customers
Some Alberta restaurants are moving to an honour system instead of enforcing the province's new vaccine passport system, while others are opting to close their doors to in-person dining altogether after staff were threatened.
The changes highlight the challenging and uncomfortable position hospitality businesses have been placed in following the provincial government's unexpected announcement last week that vaccination requirements must be in place in order to offer indoor dining.
The new public health rules effectively ask bars and restaurants to take a public stance on the COVID-19 vaccination requirement and to ask staff to enforce it. Because it remains optional for businesses, some have become targets of threats and abuse from angry would-be patrons.
Firehouse Bar and Grill in Langdon, just east of Calgary city limits, closed its doors altogether and is electing to offer takeout service exclusively after staff members faced threats over the past weekend.
"It was a no brainer. This is to protect our staff," said co-owner Greg Thompson.
The Pig & Duke Pub in Calgary has posted a notice saying that while it is a "double vaccinated" business, it expects people “will be adults” and not put them in a position where they have to turn customers away.
They say they are checking documents and following all government protocols, and have even lost staff because they were not vaccinated.
Without Papers Pizza in Inglewood posted a similar sign, saying it won't be enforcing the provincial requirements.
CTV News has reached out to the owners of both The Pig & Duke and Without Papers Pizza for comment.
In recent days. hospitality business owners have said they resent the province for putting the onus to police the rules on businesses who have already suffered greatly during the pandemic and enforcement puts staff in direct conflict with at least some of their customers.
Alberta Hospitality Association president Ernie Tsu said in the immediate aftermath of last Wednesday's announcement that the province needs to own its decision and regulate it instead of passing responsibility on to small business.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.