Calgary businesses need clear rules for relaunch amid virus, mayor says
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the city wasn’t consulted about Alberta’s plan to start lifting COVID-19 restrictions, and local businesses are facing unanswered questions less than two weeks before they might be able to reopen.
Nenshi told a council committee on Tuesday that he’s heard conflicting information about how different industries will decide on the rules they have to follow in the first stage of Alberta’s reopening plan, which could begin as early as May 14.
That phase sees businesses including restaurants, daycares and hairdressers allowed to operate again after they were either ordered to shut down or change their operations to minimize contact with customers.
Some restrictions will still be in place when businesses get the green light to reopen, including the current 15-person limit on gatherings. But Nenshi said there’s still uncertainty about how businesses ensure they’re taking proper health precautions, especially as the Calgary area continues to be a hot spot for COVID-19 cases.
“We’re being much more reactive than I would like. I would have much preferred to have been at the table in crafting these strategies.”
The mayor said there needs to be a clear process for setting guidelines for each industry amid COVID-19. He said businesses also need to know what expectations are and how to make them work since the danger of the novel coronavirus won’t be gone even as Alberta eases constraints.
An online petition is circulating that questions the decision to include barber shops and hair salons in the first phase of the relaunch plan, since there’s no way to maintain two metres of distance while you cut someone’s hair.
Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Tom Sampson told city councillors that some businesses were “pushing the limits” over the weekend and bylaw officers are working to make sure no one is trying to open their doors before it’s allowed.
CEMA deputy chief Sue Henry said Tuesday afternoon that peace officers issued 83 warnings about physical-distancing rules over the weekend, but they handed out just one ticket for violating the two-metre distancing rule to a man on Crescent Road.
Nenshi said the reopening process needs to strike a balance between supporting public health measures and giving businesses enough time to prepare for patrons returning.
“It is not go time. Let’s be clear about this. May 14 is an aspirational date for some businesses to reopen,” he said. The plan to reopen poses a challenge to the city, too, since it will have to adapt to things such as increasing demand for transit service as more people return to work. Bus and Ctrain routes across the city have been scaled back as ridership plunged 80 per cent or more.
Coun. Diane Colley-urquhart stressed the importance of working with other levels of government as well as the municipalities that surround the city.
“Calgary’s situation is unique and we have carried the burden of this pandemic more than any other place in the province,” she said.
Nenshi added there are also questions around whether Calgary’s reopening process should look different than other parts of Alberta, given the higher number of COVID-19 cases in the Alberta Health Services Calgary zone.
But that could get complicated since it could involve restricting travel within the province. Nenshi said he’d be willing to accept stricter rules for Calgary if it’s necessary to protect people, but added he’d rather see guidelines apply provincewide.
“If Calgary needs a heavier restriction, that should apply to the whole province,” he said, pointing to the ongoing danger of outbreaks such as at the Cargill and JBS meat-packing plants. “Because remember: there but for the grace of God goes anyone else.”
The province allowed golf courses to open over the weekend, but the city’s golf greens weren’t ready yet. Nenshi announced that they’ll start reopening May 14, with some restricted services and physical-distancing measures.
A growing online petition is calling on the provincial government to reconsider the reopening of hair salons and barbershops next week during the first phase of the relaunch in Alberta.
The petition, which had received more than 2,700 virtual signatures by Tuesday afternoon, argues salons and barbershops should not reopen during the first phase because there is no way to maintain two metres between clients and co-workers while working. Concerns about personal protective equipment supplies, client volumes and workplace cleanliness are cited in the petition and comments.
“We need to take thoughtful steps, as we have this far. We hope that our government continues to be measured and informed in their decisions to benefit and protect us,” said the petition.
“Will people in a non-essential sector have to risk illness, death and heightened community spread because they have no choice but to touch large volumes of clients in enclosed areas?”
On March 27, weeks after the province’s first case was detected on March 5, Alberta became one of the last of the provinces and territories in the country to order a mandatory shutdown of personal service businesses.
The first phase of the relaunch is tentatively set for May 14 but could be pushed back if health measures such as testing and contact tracing aren’t expanded.
While announcing the strategy last Thursday, Premier Jason Kenney said he expects to see more local outbreaks but that Alberta Health Services is in a position to identify and contain those outbreaks before they overwhelm the health-care system.
This is not a good enough reason for Tracy Morris to open her salon, Tracy’s Hair and Lash Studio, which is why she signed the petition.
“Hair is not essential. You’re in a person’s bubble. I can be anywhere from 12 inches to two-feet away from a client because I’m touching and washing their hair,” said Morris.
She doesn’t understand why lashes and other beauty services aren’t opening until the second phase when hair styling is scheduled to reopen next week.
“We were the last ones out and the first ones in … it’s too soon and I don’t want to start working and then have to close in two weeks again,” Morris said.
Beauty Council of Western Canada
executive director Greg Robins said PPE supply will also be a major concern for hairstylists as they reopen.
“Will employees be compelled or obliged to return to work?” asked Robins. “PPE is a concern in many industries, the shortage of PPE is going to be a factor. … What’s left for us is going to be a big question mark.”
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Tuesday he finds it “a bit odd” that personal-care services are among the first businesses to be opened.
“Certainly, every hairstylist I’ve heard from has said, ‘I don’t feel like I’m ready. I don’t know what to do, and nor do I have the equipment to be able to move forward on the 14th of May,’ ” said Nenshi.
“I want to make it extremely clear, no business is required to open. It’s a decision you have to make yourself.”
Vanessa Kenge, owner of Ari + Blair in Kensington, will reopen her salon the week after May 14. After closing her salon before the mandatory shutdown, Kenge said she and her staff are confident in reopening.
“We have to be close enough to their hair and, to be honest, I trust our clients. I feel like most people have been home for two months so I do feel confident and ready. I feel well equipped to operate safely,” said Kenge. She’ll be operating at a lower capacity, with staff splitting shifts.