Vaccination passport in supermarkets: a rather calm first day in Mauricie


Like everywhere in Quebec, Monday was the first day that customers had to present their vaccination passport for big box stores in the Mauricie region and customers seemed to adjust well to the measure.

Some businesses ask customers to plan their trips to avoid long lines outside.

“Currently, we have a security guard with us precisely because we have a lack of personnel so that helps us and in addition if ever there were overflows, well he would be there. But for the moment, the clientele is very cooperative,” said the director of the Canac hardware store in Trois-Rivières, Daniel Vézina.

An adjustment period is required for both merchants and customers. Many had also forgotten that the measure came into force on Monday.

Luckily, it starts at the beginning of the week, which gives managers a chance to find an effective formula before the heavy traffic.

“At the beginning of the week like that, it’s fluid. It is certain that on weekends, we will perhaps adjust by putting two people at the entrance to check passports, ”said the director of Sports Experts des Récollets, Luc Moreau.

“We are still aware of the risk of losing customers, this is the case in hardware stores for example,” he added.

Small hardware stores are, in some cases, at an advantage since they are not required to require the vaccination passport.

“We are really seeing more traffic. We also see customers who refuse to go to the big centers because of the demand for the health “pass”. I find it extremely unfortunate for large centers, ”admitted the owner of the Vis Mauricie hardware store in Shawinigan.

And it is not because the clientele is not vaccinated, on the contrary. Like the owner of the place, she finds this measure to be discriminatory.

According to him, the mask, the vaccines and the Plexiglas panels are sufficient to offer protection in a trade. He says he is for vaccines, but against the ideology of the vaccine passport. He also doubts the effectiveness of this measure.

Mathieu Gélinas is ready to welcome this clientele into his business.



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