Businesses need plan ahead of May 14 relaunch, NDP says
A week before Alberta’s economic relaunch plan is set to take effect, the NDP says business owners are still waiting for the government to provide health and safety guidelines.
NDP MLAS focused specifically Thursday on concerns about childcare facilities and hair salons, both of which can reopen on May 14 after being shut down in March because of the COVID -19 pandemic.
“Right now it is very clear that childcare operators and parents need clear health and safety protocols to be communicated and developed so that they actually know if it’s safe for their children to return back to child care,” NDP children’s services critic Rakhi Pancholi said Thursday.
Pancholi said facilities particularly need to know whether there will be a limit on the number of children they can care for as that could make opening financially unviable.
“I have been hearing from so many childcare centres who say if we have to work at 24 kids maximum when they’re used to operating at 125, they will not have enough money to keep the lights on, to pay their overhead costs and they don’t know what to tell parents,” she said.
In a statement, Alberta Health spokesman Tom Mcmillan said the government is working on specific guidelines for daycares and “risk mitigation strategies” for salons and barbers.
He did not say when those would be ready, but said operators can look at general guidelines provided by the government and “consider how to apply it to their facility or business.”
Those general guidelines recommend maintaining a two-metre separation. They also point to chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s ban on gatherings of more than 15 people, however the guidelines say that ban “does not prohibit businesses from having more than 15 workers in a workplace.”
On Wednesday, the government announced up to $17.8 million in support to help childcare centres and family day homes reopen safely.
The money, spread out over three phases, does not include cash specifically targeting facilities that have to work in a limited capacity, Pancholi said.
Meanwhile, hairstylists and barbers are trying to figure out how to navigate the proximity that comes with cutting someone’s hair or shaving a beard while keeping everyone safe.
Twenty stylists and barbers appeared at a news conference with NDP Leader Rachel Notley to rhyme off a laundry list of questions including whether they will qualify for income support if they choose not to open, if the government will help pay for personal protective equipment, and if it’s still safe to use high-powered hair dryers.
Stylist Sharon Stewart said she doesn’t understand why hairstylists are among the first to be able to reopen.
“I cannot wrap my head around the reason why we are in phase one instead of phase two where massage therapists are. We both work very closely with clients. I feel like we are the guinea pigs right now,” she said.
In her briefing Thursday, Hinshaw said salons and barbers were chosen for a stage one opening because they have provincially regulated training and certification standards.
“This means that hairstylists and barbers already have some familiarity with protocols aimed at limiting customers’ risks at exposure to infection,” she said.
Hinshaw said specific information for barbers and stylists is coming “soon,” and although businesses can reopen on May 14, they are not required to.