Sask. businessman calls B.C. vaccine requirements ‘seamless’

Shawn Moen was a little nervous to travel to B.C. last week for a sailing trip with his father.

“It just happened that we came out when the vaccine requirements in B.C. were in full force,” he told Brent Loucks on his morning show Tuesday. “You have some trepidation. You’re not really sure what sort of documents they need.”

Moen, co-founder and CEO of Saskatoon’s 9 Mile Legacy Brewing, said he and his dad traveled, “armed with pretty well every way that you can print out vaccine records in Saskatchewan.”

As it turns out, their nerves and preparation were unwarranted.

“It’s been really seamless,” Moen said. “You get to the front of the restaurant or bar (and) they check it just like they’re checking your driver’s license when you go into a bar. Nobody’s retaining information, they’re just confirming that your vaccine status is up to date.”

Moen said the environment in B.C. restaurants and businesses reflects the ease of their access requirements.

“Once you get in, it’s a joyful atmosphere,” he said. “People are comfortable, people are with old friends and laughing. Dare I say it, it felt normal — and isn’t that something?”

The requirements are fostering a new social code in Canada’s most westerly province — with everyone carrying their proof of vaccination, it’s no longer an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence to use it.

Moen said he thinks that’s something Saskatchewan could adopt, too.

“I do think that people, generally, are going to try very hard to work together to get through this. There’s no doubt (there are) going to be a number of bumps in the road,” he said. “We’ll still see a rise in case numbers in that situation. It’ll take a while.

“I have no doubt that the vast majority of Saskatchewan people are just going to want to get back to some sense of normal.”

The business owner said his staff has had healthy conversations about vaccination but didn’t mandate proof of it because it wasn’t needed for their brewery.

“My staff have also authorized me to say they’re 100 per cent vaccinated,” he said. “I think that workplaces that aren’t fully vaccinated will have a little bit more of a challenge.”

Though he foresees some issues with rollout — already evidenced when the initial QR codes put out by eHealth were recalled late last week — Moen thinks the province will make it through.

“It’s going to be a really fragile time for local business,” he said. “What I really worry about is tied to consumer confidence … As we get closer to the end of the year, (it becomes) precarious.”

Moen believes local businesses are going to need some extra support.

“As a prairie guy, you have to really stick your neck out there and work hard — hopefully you get a crop,” he said.