The new mandate put in place by the Saskatchewan Government on October 1, 2021, stating that proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required for select venues and services has received mixed reactions among businesses in Swift Current. 

The extensive amount of non-essential business that were required to implement a vaccination mandate include restaurants, bars, theatres, fitness centres and gyms and standalone liquor and cannabis retail sales locations. 

Nathan McDonald, the Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the Swift Current Broncos said that despite a few logistical challenges, the roll out of the new policies went rather smoothly. 

“I think we did a good job having enough people, checking people coming in there weren't any big lineups, and for the most part, everybody was pretty happy about it or, you know, understanding,” McDonald stated. 

He notes that the few frustrations were mostly in regard to checking IDs in order to verify vaccine records. 

McDonald also feels as though the organization had the proper tools to prepare for the roll out. 

“The app is very easy to use and worked very well with no issues there,” he said. “And the direction that we got through the public health order is, I mean, it's fairly clear it's fairly straightforward.” 

In response to how the staff feels about the changes, he added that for the most part everyone is just pleased that they can still operate. 

“Everybody is on board with it,” he stated. “You know it allows us to operate, it allows us to have fans in the building watching the Broncos on the ice and for us, being that it's been so long you know we're just happy to be able to be operating and to have a game.” 

However, the rollout of the new mandate has not been as smooth for other local businesses. 

Cassandra Brynilsden, store manager of Canna Cabana, said the last-minute addition of cannabis stores to the list of non-essential services meant they had less then 48 hours to prepare for the new regulations. 

“We either had to conform and do this in our store, or we were obligated to get a fine or our company shut down,” she said.  

“We just we want to show up and have our job, we don't want to be closed,” Brynilsden added. 

She noted that there have been a handful of angry customers, yet for the most part people seem to realize they are only doing their job. 

Karla Wiens CEO of the Swift Current & District Chamber of Commerce acknowledged that the new mandate presents different challenges to business owners and employees. 

“Most have not had to deal with a conflict or confrontational situation, and if it has, it's been minimal,” Wiens stated. 

She added that over the last week, traffic within some businesses has been declining, yet that could also be in part to the number of COVID-19 cases increasing in the southwest. 

“There is some confusion out there, of course there is, and with COVID numbers spiking, there were definitely more businesses from the Chambers perspective, reaching out for rapid testing,” Wiens added. 

“From a business perspective, I'm very thankful that there hasn't been further restrictions or shutdowns and hopefully we'll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel here sooner rather than later,” she concluded.