Some Greater Victoria businesses won't enforce vaccine card requirement

Victoria -

Vaccine cards are coming to B.C. on Sept. 13, meaning if you haven't received at least your first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, you won't be able to go out for dinner or work out at a gym.

Soon after the announcement was made, a number of Vancouver Island businesses said they will not be enforcing the new health order, saying the requirement is unfair.

At Sunnyside Café in Esquimalt, personal choices extend well past the menu.

On Wednesday morning, the café posted on social media that it would welcome everyone who walked through its doors, vaccinated or not.

"That's what we were trying to say in our statement. We want to serve everybody," said Sunnyside Café owner Stephanie Herring.

"That's how we've always been and that's how we want to be now," she said.

Other local businesses say they don't plan on enforcing the vaccine requirement either.

"I'm the furthest thing from an (anti-vaxxer), I encourage you to get vaccinated," said Dave Puhky, owner of the Fitness Academy gym in Victoria.

"But just because you're vaccinated or not vaccinated, I'm not going to tell you you can't come train," he said.

Owners of the Sunnyside Café also say they're not anti-vaccine advocates either.

"We're not looking to be anti-vax or pro-vax, we're in the middle," said owner Brendan Marshall. "We think people should have the right to choose."

The owners add that they're concerned about enforcement, and think that it's unfair for the province to rely on businesses and staff to enforce contentious health orders.

On Wednesday, the café's social media post ended by saying that Sunnyside does not "discriminate or segregate."

While the post's meaning is clear, the exact language isn't entirely correct, according to a Gender Studies professor at the University of Victoria.

"This isn't a violation of Charter Rights in this country," said professor Janni Aragon. "This is not an invasion of medical privacy because your information isn't being sold to a third party."

CTV News reached out B.C.'s Ministry of Health on Wednesday asking what would happen to businesses that refused to screen for vaccinated customers.

The province said that enforcement measures, "including closure," will be considered, though exact details were not provided.