On January 23, 2022, the Québec Government published Ministerial Order 2022-007 (the “Order”) regarding the introduction of the vaccine passport in certain additional businesses, as announced last week.
Thus, vehicle repair and maintenance centers as well as any wholesale or retail business with a sales and service areas of 1,500 square metres or more are now subject to the vaccination passport requirement.
However, the following businesses and premises are excluded from the scope of the Order: (a) food establishments whose principal activity is the sale of food products; (b) access to the common areas of a shopping mall; (c) pharmacies; and (d) gas stations.
With respect to pharmacies, many are located in establishments covered by the Order. Accordingly, an exception is provided to this effect, which allows non-vaccinated customers to have access to the establishment for the sole purpose of receiving pharmaceutical services and on condition that they are accompanied at all times by an employee of the establishment or a person mandated for this purpose (such as a security guard whose services are retained by the establishment in question). The non-vaccinated clients will not be allowed to purchase any other goods or services sold in that establishment.
The Order also provides details on the calculation of an establishment's surface area. Thus, for the purposes of this Order, the "sales and service area" constitutes "the total area reserved for sales, services related to sales, vehicle repair and maintenance, and for the public to have access to products and services, and includes circulation areas, spaces where payment is made and, if applicable, food preparation areas if the person assigned to that area is also responsible for serving clients". As such, it is now clear that spaces not accessible to the public, such as a storage warehouse or areas reserved for employees, are not counted in the calculation of the 1,500 square metre surface area.
It should be noted, however, that the Order does not explicitly provide for the exclusion of employees from its scope. In a recent press conference, the Québec Government nevertheless stated that these employees, although excluded from the obligation to present a vaccination passport to access the establishment to work, would nevertheless have to present such a passport in order to make purchases or receive services in their workplace. To this extent, verification mechanisms should be deployed by the establishments concerned, although this requirement is not formally provided for in the Order.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
