In the latest step toward a post-pandemic world, some Halifax businesses say they will soon adopt mandatory vaccine policies.
Since Tuesday, at least two businesses in the city announced they will require their staff to be fully vaccinated. One plans to extend that policy to its clients, as well.
Kourosh Rad owns The Garden, a restaurant in the city’s Spring Garden district.
As of September 15, he says The Garden will require all staff to show proof they have had two vaccine doses. If not, they must provide weekly tests proving they don’t have Covid-19.
Rad tells Huddle he made the decision after learning Nova Scotia plans to relax Covid-related health restrictions in September.
He says the move is motivated by a desire to keep his community safe: Haligonians helped his business survive the pandemic, he says, and he wants to repay them.
“We are here because of goodwill in the community. And we feel like we need to give back and need to be part of that same community by doing everything we can to keep ourselves safe and to keep our guests safe,” he says.
Rad has been prepping his staff for the decision for a while, trying to be as open as possible and address any concerns. He says most everyone appears to be on board but that he’s willing to make exceptions in some situations.
He also decided to limit the policy to staff because asking customers to prove their vaccine status felt like it was going a little too far.
Despite that, there’s been no shortage of people harassing, insulting, and belittling the business online.
“Your values are disgusting. I can’t wait for your shitty business to shut down, I will be laughing for days. You poor misguided simpletons,” one private message reads.
“I’m from Iran. I moved to Canada in 2007. My family and my relatives in Iran are getting sick and they wish they had access to Pfizer and Moderna. They wish they could get vaccinated. Some of my relatives have passed. So for people to get the messages that we get and not get vaccinated, it’s so insulting to me as a person that is seeing the true cost, the human costs of Covid,” he says.
Rad says he’s probably lost some business because of the new policy—The Garden has already dropped a few hundred Instagram followers—but that he is convinced it’s the right decision, both as a human being and a business owner.
Any lost business, he says, is nothing compared to what The Garden will lose if it’s forced to shut down again. Making sure his staff and customers are protected is one way to stop that happening.
Rad says he’s also had others approach him and say they were inspired by his decision and plan to push for similar policies at their workplaces.
That’s already starting to happen.
Along with a flurry of universities, colleges, and sports teams in Nova Scotia making vaccines mandatory, other private businesses have now started requiring them.
August 25, Evolve Fitness announced its own mandatory vaccine policy even more strict than The Garden’s. As of Sept. 15, any eligible staff or client must be fully vaccinated to walk through the doors.
Mathew Benvie, Evolve’s president, tells Huddle the policy is first and foremost about keeping his staff and clients safe.
But, just like at The Garden, it’s also a sound business decision.
“Our number one priority at all times is keeping our staff and our community safe. But, at the same time, we also have to stay in business,” he says. “If we don’t have the margins to handle [staying open] we won’t be in business and keeping anybody safe and healthy.”
Both Benvie and Rad say they hope people understand they’re doing what they think is best to keep people safe.
“I hope that people respect our decision as a business. We are not discriminating against anyone. We are having an open dialogue with everybody. We want this to be a collaborative approach to making Covid history,” Rad says.
This post originally appeared on Huddle.Today, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
