Unmasked protesters making Friday nights “hell” for Halifax businesses – Halifax | The Canadian News

A Halifax business owner recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 has already grown weary of vaccination trial protesters trying to enter his store without wearing masks.

“Overall business has been good, kind of back to almost pre-COVID numbers, but Friday nights have been hell,” said Philip Holmans, owner of World Tea House.

Every Friday for the past few weeks, a group of people have been gathering on Argyle Street, a popular place to eat and drink in the city, to protest the province’s proof of vaccination requirements.

Holmans supports the right of people to protest. He comes from a military family and knows that previous generations earned the right with hard work.

“I am totally in favor of people protesting and being able to express their opinions,” he said. “But they insist on trying to enter my business without a mask, and we have a mask policy, as do most HRM companies.”

He said that in the beginning, the business was adapting to the group. Holmans stayed up late on the first Friday nights and helped serve them outside.

But one week, he was not there and a group entered the store and was “quite hostile” to the staff who asked them to wear masks.

With that, he looked at the outdoor patio furniture and stopped serving it outside. Now he has taken a position outside to prevent unmasked customers from entering the store.

“If you want to wear a mask, you can absolutely have your drinks and go to your protest,” he said.

“But without physically putting a piece of cloth for those 10 feet and that 30-second transaction, if you’re so adamant about not having that on, then I’m pretty adamant about not serving you.”

In an email, Halifax Regional Police spokesman John MacLeod said police “are aware of the ongoing problem in that area and have been monitoring the situation.”

“It is important that business owners formally report violations when they occur so that we can be aware of them and analyze them to determine appropriate actions. Our approach continues to be a combination of education and enforcement, and we will apply it as needed, ”said MacLeod.

“We remind the public to follow current public health measures related to the COVID-19 emergency and strongly encourage members of the public to educate themselves on Phase 5 public health directives and COVID-19 compliance measures. , including those related to illegal assemblies and associated fines. “

Companies ‘fed up’

Holmans said that while the protesters are not actively blocking entrances to businesses in the area, their presence deters customers from entering.

He said he has spoken to other businesses in the area and they are “fed up.”

“(The protesters) talk about their rights, they violate their human rights and all that. But what about us? he said.

“Don’t we have the right to earn a living? Don’t we have the right to feed our children? Don’t we have the right to create a good working environment for our staff and our clients? “

He also said that there are better places where they can protest, such as government buildings, rather than outside restaurants and businesses that are simply following the province’s rules.

“Bringing that attention to your cause is important, but you cannot negatively impact other people for your cause. That’s not right, ”he said.

“I just want peace and my staff to feel safe and my clients to feel safe. And if they are preventing it, then it is a big problem for me. “