Local businesses scramble to hire more staff as capacity limits lift
Capacity limits have lifted for non-essential businesses that require proof of vaccination, and local restaurants are preparing to welcome more foot traffic through their doors.
“We are pretty excited about it,” Armend Morina, manager at Dearborn Restaurant said to CTV. “It helps [restaurants] a lot, due to the fact that they’ve been left out for two years now.
"I don't think we'll ever be back to how things were in the past."
Indoor dining joins sports facilities, gyms, casinos and other non-essential workplaces as the latest businesses to be included in the province’s decision to ease pandemic restrictions. However, some businesses are unsure if they can keep up with the sudden increase in customers.
“In a way it’s great that we’re back to max, but at the same time it’s going to put pressure on the owners knowing the fact that we have to hire more employees,” Morina said.
Dearborn Restaurant owner Mike Fthenos said he’s reluctant to open at full capacity until he hires more employees to handle the heavy workload.
“They really didn’t give us too much time to get ready for a full house,” Fthenos said. “I’ll probably stay at half capacity for a while until I get the staff I need in order to handle a full house.”
In Kitchener, owners at Gym 41 said they’re ready to welcome more people into the facility to workout.
“It helps create the atmosphere of a gym,” Matt Rolleman, Gym 41 co-owner said. “That’s the way gyms are, it’s kind of like restaurants. You want to have people around. People feed off each other.”
Places of worship, museums and personal care settings can also operate under lifted capacity limits if they opt-in to the vaccine certificate program.
Proof of vaccination still isn’t required to access medical care, grocery stores and other essential services.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.