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Easing health restrictions a welcome move: Red Deer chamber of commerce

Hospitality association wants more details from government on next steps and what support is planned
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Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce says businesses welcomed the easing of health restrictions announced by Premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday. (Advocate file photo)

The restaurant was lively when Red Deer business advocate Reg Warkentin went out for dinner on Wednesday.

It appeared to validate the view held by many in the business community, especially the hospitality industry, that Premier Jason Kenney made the right move by dropping vaccine passport requirements at midnight Tuesday.

“Overall, it’s good, a step in the right direction,” said Warkentin, the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce’s policy and government relations manager.

“Fortunately, this is opening the doors for more customers and reducing administrative burdens.”

The easing of health measures will no doubt be embraced by many in the hospitality business, who have faced a series of restrictions, including closures, as wave after wave of the pandemic has rolled through.

“It’s been a tough go for businesses. They’ve been hit with a lot on very short notice.”

While the latest move is one of the more welcomed short-notice changes, the business community has always argued that consultation leads to better decisions.

“With COVID-19, that hasn’t happened much, which leaves businesses having to be reactive and unable to plan.”

Warkentin said the chamber feels much like Mayor Ken Johnston, who said earlier this week that he hoped the easing of restrictions would help the community pull together.

“People need time to heal and get over this and start to feel confident that it’s safe to be out and open. That will be an adjustment.

“There’s a hesitancy, but there’s a thirst for normalcy as well.”

The Alberta Hospitality Association expressed some of the frustration of its members, saying while the government moves were heading in the right direction “it still leaves the hospitality industry in a precarious position with many within the industry feeling unclear and frustrated.

“The hospitality industry wants an understanding as to why REP (Restriction Exemption Program) would be lifted before other restrictions such as table capacity, curfew and approved socializing and events throughout our operations,” says a statement released on Tuesday. “Removal of REP without loosening additional restrictions will continue to see operators enduring huge losses daily.”

The association says it wants the government to provide a clear understanding of what needs to happen before the second phase of easing health restrictions takes place.

More clarity is requested from the government on what restrictions will be lifted in Phase 2 and to provide a “clear plan of provincial support for the hospitality industry which was unfairly targeted with closures during the fifth wave of restrictions.”



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