Edmonton club owners excited for big weekend with COVID-19 restrictions lifted
CBC
Edmonton club owners are expressing relief and excitement as they head into this weekend unburdened by provincial COVID-19 restrictions.
Some clubs have been closed, or been reduced to limited functioning, for nearly two months.
Chvrch of John, a nightclub in downtown Edmonton, has been closed since the province brought in COVID-19 restrictions on Dec. 24, which included restricting dancing in bars, clubs and restaurants.
Kris Harvey, operating partner of Chvrch of John, says between the 11 p.m. curfew for alcohol sales, dancing restrictions, and other restrictions it made more sense to temporarily close the club.
Federal government subsidies weren't accessible due to turnaround times, he added.
"It was really daunting and it was really, really scary," Harvey said. " I know a number of business owners that aren't going to make it because of the last two months of shutdown."
"If we didn't have amazing landlords, we wouldn't have survived."
The restrictions were brought in to deal with the rapid rise in Omicron cases, the highly transmissible variant that led to Alberta's highest COVID-19 hospitalization numbers.
But as hospitalizations have trended down, the province lifted most COVID-19 restrictions on March 1, including restrictions on "interactive activities, table limits, liquor sales and closing times" for bars and restaurants.
However, the City of Edmonton's face-coverings bylaw remains in effect.
Under the bylaw, bar and restaurant patrons are required to wear masks except when they are seated and consuming food or drink.
City council is set to review the bylaw on March 8, and Premier Jason Kenney has said the government will introduce legislation to prevent municipalities from bringing in their own public health restrictions.
CBC News spoke with several club owners who said they expect it will be tough to enforce the Edmonton bylaw on dance floors. They said they don't want to encourage conflict.
Chvrch of John hosted patrons the day after provincial restrictions were lifted, and plans to welcome more over the weekend.
Members of CUPE Local 456, which represents city workers in Melville, Sask., have voted in favour of job action due to wage disputes and high employee turnover.
Some schools in Queens and Prince counties are starting one hour later Wednesday due to road conditions following yesterday's storm.
Edmonton's city auditor has made eight recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the city's paratransit service, saying clients who rely on the service will benefit from the changes.
Electric bus manufacturers hit hard by pandemic-era supply chain chaos could soon find themselves pummelled by a trade war.
A workshop will be held Wednesday evening to help give Windsor residents the necessary tools on how to interact with people experiencing homelessness.
Buy Canadian — that's the message being pushed across the country. But on the other end of the movement, some small business owners in Calgary who feel the pressure to pivot to Canadian products say that isn't as easy as it sounds.
Inside a community centre in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, poster board collages display photos of a young woman with a big smile on her face. She's shown with her arms wrapped around family members, being silly in selfies with friends, standing proud in a high school graduation gown.
As an outreach worker helping people with life-limiting illnesses in Thunder Bay, Ont., Julie Diner says she doesn't spend much time in the office.
A swift response by flight attendants, crews and emergency workers was among the key reasons why no one died in Monday's plane crash at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, an expert and officials say.
Health care, homelessness and the threat of U.S. tariffs were among the top issues addressed by Cambridge candidates as part of a panel discussion on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition on Tuesday.
U.S. president Donald Trump's tariff threats and digs at Canadian sovereignty are forcing Canadian politicians of all stripes to adapt, and in Quebec, the opposition Parti Québécois is facing a particularly tough challenge.
Rough weather on Tuesday forced salvage specialists to abandon their inspection of a cargo ship that ran aground in a rocky cove along Newfoundland's west coast over the weekend.
Premier Tim Houston's government is using its supermajority in the legislature to give itself the power to fire the auditor general without cause and make reports from the office private.