By Troy Gillard and Sheldon Spackman

uncertain future

Return to Step 1 restrictions angers business owners

Apr 7, 2021 | 5:51 PM

The return to Step 1 of Alberta’s “A Path Forward” relaunch strategy comes as another tough blow for business owners.

Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday that as of Friday, restaurants must close to in-person indoor dining, retail stores will be allowed 15 per cent customer capacity rather than the current 25 per cent, and low-intensity group fitness activities are once again banned.

Indoor social gatherings remain banned and outdoor get-togethers can have no more than 10 people.

Brennen Wowk, owner of Bo’s Bar and Stage in Red Deer, feels the hospitality industry is being unfairly singled out by the restrictions.

“A lot of hospitality operators have been doing their best to create safe environments for their guests,” he says. “We worry about our teams and this has been kind of a crushing blow to our industry.”

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Wowk says he’s no longer sure what the future of his industry will look like moving forward.

“I think this government has failed at providing us a clear path forward as an industry. We’ve been asking (for one) since the first shutdown… so I’m hoping with the vaccine rollout that we’ll have the ability to move forward past this. But this government needs to begin working with industry to truly map out what a path forward looks like, keeping in mind the survival of the industry, the needs of these business operators and their great employees.”

Heather Buelow, who owns dance studios in Lacombe and Blackfalds and an aerial yoga studio in Blackfalds, also feels the restrictions unfairly target her businesses.

“The government took pride in keeping open the health and wellness sector. And by ‘health and wellness’ they mean tattoo parlors, nail salons, hair salons, chiropractor and massage, which is great. For my fellow business owners, I am so happy that they get to keep their doors open,” she noted in a video posted to Facebook.

“But what’s truly health and wellness, the fitness industry – yoga studios, spin studios and everything like that, has been forced to close their doors.

“The amount of transmissions in yoga studios is zero. This is not going to do anything to flatten the curve.”

The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is frustrated to see the province “fundamentally shift the goal posts, parameters and trigger points” with its relaunch strategy.

“Businesses do not turn on and off like a light switch. Operators and owners must have adequate staffing, inventory and so on,” said CEO Rick More. “For the government to ‘switch-off’ a big portion of our hospitality industry is a devastating blow to weakened industries that made significant investments and adaptations to operate in a safe manner.”

The chamber says the province’s phased relaunch plan was welcomed when it was first introduced because of the certainty it gave businesses to plan based on hospitalizations and ICU capacity.

“This step backwards is clearly a huge blow to business confidence and hope for a sooner than later economic recovery,” More suggests. “Neither government nor effected businesses retain the fiscal capacity to survive these types of restrictions. Additional and ongoing supports are required from the provincial and federal governments to assist in the survival of businesses effected by restrictions.”

More says the chamber is continuing discussions with the City of Red Deer and pressing the urgency of measures they can take on a local level to alleviate the financial stress on local businesses.