Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Publishing date:Sep 09, 2021
Gillian Whyatt, of Toronto catering company Saucy Affairs, says it was a no-brainer signing up to the days-old website nopasslist.ca.
The site, set up on Sept. 5, sees Canadian businesses in Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec add their support for freedom of choice about whether or not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It’s none of our business what someone chooses to do medically — that’s our stance,” said Whyatt, Saucy Affairs’ office manager-event coordinator and wife of chef-owner Glen Anderson.
“I’m not going to discriminate against our customers or my staff or even ask them any information. It just goes against our own ethics.”
Whyatt said that means the seven-year-old catering company won’t ask anyone who works for them or their clients about having a vaccine passport.
However, that could work against them in venues that do require proof of vaccines.
“It’s very possible,” said Whyatt. “However, since joining the couple of Facebook (groups called Ontario Business Support Against Vax Pass and Ontario Businesses against Health Pass) and this no pass site, we actually are going to get busier because of the people who support our decision. So we’re gaining (three) new clients because of that.”
Nopasslist.ca — set up by a group in East Gwilimbury, Ont. that wishes to remain anonymous for now — is an undisputed success, according to their spokesperson Brea Osler.
She said the site is getting 30,000 page views daily and over 1,000 businesses have signed up so far, the majority in Ontario.
“We’re very, very surprised — the support has been tremendous and is definitely climbing day by day,” said Osler.
But Osler stressed it’s up to each individual business on nopasslist.ca about whether they will or won’t require a vaccine passport from their customers.
“No pass means non-passive,” she said. “So businesses that are not going to be passive about the situation at hand. It doesn’t necessarily mean no passports.”
“We can’t speak on behalf of all the businesses on the site and say whether they’re going to implement the vaccine passports or not,” Osler said. “The only thing we can say is that they are in support of freedom of choice in Canada and they don’t believe in segregation or discrimination based on your medical status.”
Now or Never 