Impatience reigns among businesses awaiting reopening

Several merchants in Abitibi-Témiscamingue are impatiently awaiting announcements from the Legault government that will allow them to resume their activities.

Owners of restaurant dining rooms, cinemas, bars and gyms still don’t know what to expect in the coming weeks.

At the press briefing on Thursday, the Prime Minister said he wanted a gradual return to normal, without however specifying a timetable for reopening.

For David Dallaire, of the Mikes restaurant in Rouyn-Noranda, this is another disappointment after two very difficult years for this industry.

“Every time we had to close the dining rooms or even set up the vaccine passport, it creates financial losses, he explains. I look at my restaurant and I find it a shame to see a large area with no one inside. We manage to survive with subsidies and delivery, but with a closed dining room, no one can make big profits. We can’t wait to take a breather and be able to recover. »

Cinemas are also suffering from this forced closure, especially since the holiday season is often very lucrative for this industry.



Amos cinema


© Émélie Rivard-Boudreau/Radio-Canada
Amos cinema

Owner of Cinéma Amos, Johanne Savoie deplores the lack of communication from the government in recent weeks.

Video: Longueuil will go ahead with the slaughter of deer (Le Devoir)

Longueuil will go ahead with the slaughter of deer

  • When should a rapid screening test be used?
    When should a rapid screening test be used?
    When should a rapid screening test be used? Each Quebecer is entitled to five rapid screening tests per 30-day period. What to do with this precious kit? Answers from three experts. When to use testing? The Quebec government recommends them when a person has symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. “In the absence of symptoms, rapid tests should not be used, writes Quebec in its guide on the Internet. Exceptionally, before visiting a very vulnerable person, it is recommended to do a rapid test. According to the experts consulted, asymptomatic people should also use rapid screening tests. Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, microbiologist-infectiologist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center, advises people to use them “just before going to a gathering”, for example an hour before a family dinner. Nathalie Grandvaux, director of the CHUM’s Host Response to Viral Infections Research Laboratory, reminds us that the test must be repeated each time we attend a gathering. If our number of tests is limited, we use them during gatherings where there are vulnerable people, such as newborns or the elderly, says Dr. Quach-Thanh. How effective are they? The tests detect 80 to 90% of symptomatic infected people, according to Dr. André Veillette, an immunologist at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute. “Yes, we might miss 10% of people, but if we miss them, those are people who are probably less infectious.” Anyway, adds the doctor, people who have symptoms should not take part in gatherings. In the case of asymptomatics, the tests detect 40% of people with COVID-19, according to Dr. Quach-Thanh.

    Logo of Le Devoir: Le Devoir smallFavicon
    The duty

  • Quebecers will be entitled to the federal confinement benefit
    Quebecers will be entitled to the federal confinement benefit
    Quebecers will be entitled to the federal confinement benefit Workers who lose their livelihood with the closure by Québec of certain non-essential businesses will be able to receive the brand new federal confinement benefit, formalized by Parliament a few days ago in sadness. The Ministry of Finance confirmed to Le Devoir on Monday that workers who find themselves without income on Tuesday following the closure of their workplace will be eligible for the Canada Worker Benefit in the event of confinement, which offers $ 300 per week . This particularly affects employees of cinemas, performance halls, sports halls, spas, bars and casinos in Quebec, who must temporarily close their doors because of the new health measures decreed Monday by the Legault government. This new confinement benefit, similar to the popular Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), is part of Bill C-2, which received royal assent last Friday. Unlike the assistance provided in this bill for businesses, benefits for workers are conditional on a situation of confinement in a province or region. Since the federal law is very recent, Ottawa has not yet announced the procedure for applying for this benefit. An announcement must be made “in the coming days” on this subject, indicated Guillaume Bertrand, communications adviser in the office of Minister Chrystia Freeland.

    Logo of Le Devoir: Le Devoir smallFavicon
    The duty

  • Rush for rapid screening tests in Quebec pharmacies
    Rush for rapid screening tests in Quebec pharmacies
    Rush for rapid screening tests in Quebec pharmacies Quebecers are engaged in a race against time to obtain free rapid screening tests in pharmacies. “Since this morning, our sites have been experiencing heavy traffic,” acknowledged Jean Coutu Group Communications Manager Catherine Latendresse. Among the citizens interviewed, several expressed their desire to protect people aged 70 and over who will be present at their family meetings of up to ten people. The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, has asked parents of children attending elementary schools or daycare services not to obtain a pharmacy kit for the moment since they have already received one. Every Quebecer is entitled to five free screening tests per 30-day period. Quebec expects 10 million rapid tests from the federal government by Christmas. “We are asking the federal government to buy as much as possible and that Quebec have its share” Daniel Paré, director general of executive and operational management of the pandemic. Pharmacists fear supply delays and stock shortages. Among them, Alexandre Chadi hopes not to have to deal with disappointments. “The tests were well publicized. They are highly coveted.” The president of the Quebec Association of Proprietary Pharmacists finds it normal that the kits have sold out so quickly. “It will stabilize in the next few days,” he thinks.

    Logo of Le Devoir: Le Devoir smallFavicon
    The duty

NEXT VIDEO

NEXT VIDEO

“We had to close with three hours’ notice and we have had no news since, no date of possible reopening,” she says. At least give us an idea. Is it in a month, in six months? We don’t know anything. It’s really flat because the clientele came back more and more to see us at the cinema. The longer it delays, the more people start to frequent online platforms. »

At the Val-d’Or Chamber of Commerce (CCVD), we are also eagerly awaiting announcements concerning businesses closed since the end of December, as well as performance halls and arenas.

“This is the next step and we know that merchants, like consumers, are eager to return to a more normal life, underlines general manager Hélène Paradis. These are businesses that were already asking for the vaccine passport and that showed that it was going very well. We can’t wait for the government to announce good news. »



General Manager Hélène Paradis.


© Courtesy, CCVO
General Manager Hélène Paradis.

The CCVD is also delighted with the government’s desire not to impose the vaccination passport in the smallest businesses.

“It could have been really difficult for them to set this in motion. For larger areas, we know that it will be a labor challenge and that it could slow down access to businesses a little, but we understand the government’s strategy of encouraging people to get vaccinated. The most important thing is that people continue to encourage local businesses, which have had a hard time since the start of the pandemic, ”concludes Hélène Paradis.

With information from Boualem Hadjouti

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.