A portion of a  letter sent by Alberta Health Services to local restaurant owners outlining the Restrictions Exemption Program (Submitted photo/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Restaurant owners confused and frustrated with Restrictions Exemption Program

Oct 1, 2021 | 7:28 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- Joe Desjardins moved to Medicine Hat nine months ago to start his newest venture Country Crumbs. Having operated a successful restaurant for years in another town he was shocked to have received a letter from Alberta Heath Services a few days ago.

“We’ve had a restaurant for 15 years and I have never had anyone give me a warning, not even once, and so I took it personally,” he said.

The letter outlined what is required to be in compliance with the Restrictions Exemption Program. Throughout the pandemic, Desjardins has always taken the restrictions v seriously, and would often go a step further. Most recently, he mandated masks for all his staff weeks before the province made the call.

“ To me, I thought I was doing a good job I had no idea I was breaking the law.”

For Desjardins, he was surprised to learn that in order to comply, a person must be present at the door to check vaccine cards and ID throughout the day. But in order to do that, Desjardins would have to hire another staff person, something he said is simply not feasible.

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“As a small business, you are barely making it right now. The staff we have we can’t afford to lose. But we also can’t afford to hire someone. We just can’t afford to do that,” Desjardins said.

The Restrictions Exemption program also applies to the entire restaurant. So all guests including those on the patio must show proof of vaccination.

Desjardins wasn’t the only one to receive a letter from Alberta Health Services. In a statement, Alberta Health Services confirmed the letter was sent to food establishments across the province for awareness and education.

“Alberta Health Services (AHS) Public Health Inspectors always seeks to work collaboratively with businesses and organizations to ensure compliance with CMOH orders and current public health measures. Our first step is always education,” Alberta Health Services said.

“It is only when significant risk is identified or continued non-compliance is noted, that AHS resorts to enforcement action. AHS does not issue tickets or fines. Tickets, fines, and criminal charges are under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement,” Alberta Health Services added.

Down the street from Desjardins, Janelle Hullah, owner of Copper Leaf Cafe also received the letter. She said she supports doing whatever is necessary to keep customers safe but agrees the Restriction Exemption Program puts an unfair burden on small business owners and their staff.

Aside from having to hire an additional staff person to check vaccine status, take out-orders must be moved to curb-side pick-up, something she did not realize until she received the letter.

“ That’s super frustrating because we don’t have anywhere for them to stop. So now I have to hire someone else to take their phone calls, to take the orders for take-out and then also deliver it curb-side,” Hullah said noting her cafe is running on limited staff as is.

Jeremy Knodel, another downtown coffee shop owner, is also feeling the frustration and is torn at what to do.

Knodel said his coffee shop has always strived to create welcoming space and while he understands the intent of the program, he says it creates a divide.

“ We are basically being asked to cut our staff hours, so my staff won’t be able to pay for the things that they need because I have to shut down inside to serve everybody equally. Or I have to treat certain people differently because we are trying to appease a certain rule. So what I feel like,e is our leadership is trying to create two different classes of people who get treated two different ways,” Knodel said

While larger coffee chains are able to switch to drive-thru while maintaining revenue, Knodel said the same can’t be said about smaller coffee shops.

“If I switch to take-out only I’m basically cutting my income in half, and my staff’s hours in half. But their rent is the same, their groceries are the same, everything else stays the same,” he said.

Knodel said the Restriction Exemption Program also puts staff in awkward situations when it comes to asking customers for their vaccine status.

The Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce have been fielding concerns about the Restriction Exemption Program since it was announced.

“ I think the biggest challenge is clarity, understanding what the requirements are, which businesses are in scope, which businesses are out of scope, and really how to implement the program. It came out very quickly with very little notice for businesses with very little consultation, and so there has been a lot of challenges with how to understand the guidelines,” stated Lisa Kowalchuk, executive director of the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce.

Kowalchuk said the Chamber of Commerce has asked the province to consult with business groups before implementing restrictions so that they have a greater understanding of the impacts on different businesses. The organization has also requested that the province implement a FAQ page on their website that is easily accessible for guidance.

In the meantime, Kowalchuk said information on how to implement the latest restrictions can be found on the Alberta Biz Connect website. Business owners can also contact the Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce directly for assistance.

As for Desjardins, he said the Restrictions Exemption Program is simply too costly and has decided to opt-out, thereby closing indoor dining at his establishment for the time being.