Saskatchewan businesses split on vaccine passports

Saskatchewan businesses are torn on the issue of proving a person is vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter a business or public place.

The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce sent out a survey last week to its members across the province. Of the 369 respondents, 43 per cent were in favour of proof of vaccination, while 41 per cent voted in favour of not requiring any proof.

Chamber CEO Steve McLellan said the business community has spoken.

“There isn’t a consistent perspective on passports,” McLellan said. “It was very enlightening and positive to know.”

The main question on the survey asked: “Do you think proof of vaccine should be required to enter businesses and public places in Saskatchewan?”

McLellan said many businesses aren’t willing to wade into the extremely contentious debate for a myriad of reasons.

“It’s the full spectrum, but the business community is telling us very clearly this is not an issue that they want to put into place on a mandatory basis,” McLellan said.

Nikki Van Duyvendyk with Dutch Growers in Saskatoon didn’t take part in the survey, but if anything, she would have bumped up the numbers in the “no” camp.

Even though she is personally in favour of making vaccines mandatory, she said the debate becomes so intense, the outcome is rarely worth the hassle of asking a customer for documentation.

“This would have to come from the government because businesses doing it on their own and facing all the criticism that could come with it — it’s just too hard on people,” Van Duyvendyk said.

On multiple occassions, Premier Scott Moe has stated the provincial government is not looking at implementing a vaccine passport system.

Similar measures have been adopted in Manitoba to limit indoor access at restaurants and attendance at large events to those who can prove they’ve been vaccinated. Quebec is prohibiting unvaccinated people from restaurants, gyms and festivals when it launches a vaccine passport system on Sept. 1.

Removing public health restrictions followed by a rise in new COVID-19 cases over the last month has forced governments across the country to consider restricting certain activities once again for unvaccinated people.

When Saskatchewan lifted all public health measures on July 11, the active case count was 399. As of Wednesday’s daily update, that number has jumped to 1,066.

McLellan said when the results of the survey were released, the feedback was consistent from businesses. Navigating how to implement any sort of vaccine passport system would be difficult.

Van Duyvendyk isn’t willing to put her employees in that position either.

“This is maybe their first job and they’re having to talk with some of these people that maybe are against it or want to give their opinion,” she said. “It makes it very, very, very hard for a lot of the workforce that are having to take the wrath of no decision being made.”

McLellan said the business community just isn’t ready to implement a province-wide system at this point.

If it comes to restrictions being reintroduced or a fourth wave ballooning case counts in the fall, Van Duyvendyk would reconsider her stance.

If that were the case, 26 per cent of respondents in the survey would require proof of vaccination, another 26 per cent would reduce capacity and 25 per cent would do neither.

“Businesses have gone through too much. They just can’t afford now that they’re already weakened to be shut down again,” Van Duyvendyk said.