By Shaun Penner

ACC Survey

Two-thirds of surveyed Alberta business owners against proof of vaccination

Sep 1, 2021 | 1:45 PM

The Alberta Chambers of Commerce (ACC) says a majority of Alberta business owners do not support requiring proof of vaccination to access businesses providing non-essential services.

This finding came from a survey conducted by ACC last week on the issue, which garnered nearly 1,500 responses over three days.

ACC says 67 per cent of respondents were not supportive of requiring proof of vaccination, with the primary reason being cited as vaccination being a personal choice.

A total of 28 per cent of respondents were supportive of a vaccination mandate, with the primary rationale being that a coordinated approach to stop COVID-19 transmission is necessary to support business activity.

“The intention of this survey was not to weigh in on one side or the other of the vaccine debate,” said ACC President and CEO Ken Kobly, in a release.

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“Rather, we conducted this survey to better understand the challenges and perspectives of business operators—those affected by any decision to mandate proof of vaccination—in this current health environment.”

A majority of respondents were concerned about implications for employer and employee rights, adds ACC, as well as hiring to replace employees not willing to work because of a vaccination requirement.

Kobly notes that the past 18 months has seen employers and employees shoulder much responsibility for enforcing health orders like mask mandates, often facing abusive behaviour in the process.

Something, he feels, would be unfair to that group if proof of vaccination was to be mandated by the province

“If the province moves forward with requiring proof of vaccination to access services, the responsibility for enforcement cannot rest with business,” says Kobly.