‘Leave them alone’
WEEKLY PROTESTS WEIGHING ON CALGARY BUSINESSES
First came the construction, choking off the main traffic artery for businesses along 17th Avenue S.W. last decade.
Then came the pandemic, followed by the worst recession Calgary has weathered in decades.
Now, weekly protests are affecting restaurants, bars, retailers — and residents — in the Beltline and along 17th Avenue S.W. at a critical point in the economic recovery.
After a public debate about the actions of police on Saturday — when anti-vaccine mandate protesters faced off with residents upset with the rallies — business operators in the Beltline are beyond weary.
“It has just been one thing after another, really: the construction, the COVID thing, tearing up 17th,” said Pamela Haight, co-owner of the Rubaiyat Gallery, an independent business in the area.
“It becomes discouraging after a while and you sort of think, ‘What is going to happen next?’ ”
Protests against vaccine passports and COVID-19 public health measures have grown in the area this year, even as restrictions have been lifted.
Many Beltline residents are tired of the disruption in their neighbourhood. Some gathered Saturday to stop the rally, with the two sides meeting at 5A Street and 17th Avenue S.W.
Video from the confrontation shows police shoving bicycles into the counter-protesters to move them; police chief Mark Neufeld told reporters this week it was a reasonable course of action to end the conflict.
Business operators and employees are fed up, simply trying to recover from 24 bruising months of the pandemic, a deep recession and a drop in nearby downtown traffic.
Companies in the area report a revenue decline of 15 to 20 per cent during the rallies, states a letter from city council to the chair of the Calgary police commission. Customers are “fleeing restaurants” by 1 p.m. to avoid being stuck, it states.
“It’s incredibly unsettling for people who work in these businesses as well,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said in an interview.
“It’s a total disruption to their lives every Saturday — and it’s not right and it’s not fair.”
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce said the protests are disrupting the ability of businesses to return to normal operations as public health restrictions are ending.
“If you have a problem, talk to your elected officials. Don’t download the problem onto small businesses,” said chamber CEO Deborah Yedlin. “They have had enough to deal with already. Leave them alone.”
A poll in February found only 30 per cent of small business operators in the province were back to normal sales after the effect of the pandemic, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Entrepreneurs who see the weekly protests on the doorsteps of their businesses say this is another issue to grapple with as they strive to bring customers back into the area.
“It’s affecting our business as well because there are no cars and no drivers (who) can pick up the food,” said Pon Limsrijamrern, who manages the Tuk Tuk Thai restaurant on 17th Avenue S.W.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen again this week. I think it’s getting worse.”
Haight estimated her Saturday sales have fallen by 50 to 60 per cent during the protests, landing on a busy day for retailers when people typically come from across the city and outside Calgary to shop in the district.
She said the rallies have been noisy and, at times, aggressive, with protesters walking up to the store windows to shout at customers through a megaphone.
“We have clients who call and say, ‘I was going to come on Saturday’ — and it’s just making them uncomfortable coming down into the area,” said Haight, whose business has operated in the district for more than four decades.
Ernie Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 Brewpub on 17th Avenue S.W., agreed the situation is getting worse, and said authorities need to do something about it.
“The police have done a good job for the most part, but at the end of the day, we as businesses just want to be able to move forward,” said Tsu, who is also president of the Alberta Hospitality Association.
And that drops the issue in the lap of municipal leaders and the police.
Local business improvement area (BIA) leaders met with Calgary police and civic officials Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Adrian Urlacher, executive director of the Beltline BIA, attended the meeting and said he appreciates the police are in a tough position. People have the right to hold demonstrations, but shouldn’t be allowed to disrupt the lives of residents and business operators.
“There has to be something done,” said Urlacher, whose group represents businesses located a few blocks from the protests.
People have the opportunity to hold protests at city hall or at the province’s Mcdougall Centre or the federal Harry Hays building, Gondek stressed.
Council doesn’t have the authority to direct the police service, but it has requested a briefing from the police commission on what steps are being taken in response to the situation.
“I am worried about this weekend because I don’t know what the plan is,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Calgary Police Service issued a statement asking anyone who intends to protest in the Beltline and 17th Avenue S.W. area to instead stay away.
That’s not likely to happen.
Neufeld told Global TV on Wednesday that last weekend was an “inflection point.”
While there was an expectation the initial rallies would subside once public health restrictions were lifted, that hasn’t happened.
“We completely understand what’s going on and sympathize with the folks in the Beltline,” he added.
“And I think you’ll see a very different approach on Saturday. This is a difficult issue.”
It surely is.
For businesses operators in the area, sympathy isn’t enough. What’s needed now is a resolution.