Website that lists businesses that still require masks receives love from users, grief from haters
Three-hundred businesses are now listed on Safer Shopping Network, a website designed to pinpoint which retailers still require customers wear masks, and the list is growing.
The governments of both British Columbia and Alberta have lifted their mask mandates, but individual businesses can set their own policies.
The team behind Safer Shopping Network told CTV News Vancouver that the site is meant to be a tool to help anyone who is still wary of shopping without masks, like parents with children who aren’t vaccinated, or anyone who is immunocompromised.
“They don’t really know which places they can go to safely, they don’t know the vaccination status of people, they honestly can’t go about their lives the way everyone else can,” said co-founder Crystal Mundy. “So we started the Safer Shopping Network to do some of the labour for these people.”
She stressed this isn’t meant to be a blacklist of businesses that don’t require masks, but a site that takes away the guessing work.
For the most part, the response has been positive, but Mundy admitted the team received a lot of hateful comments from the anti-mask crowd.
Launched Saturday night, the site initially had a comment box where people could submit useful tips, like which business are allowing customers book appointments, but Mundy said she had to pull it down.
“People were going in and making false entries, and then of course putting harmful content, calling people ‘sheep,’ and telling them not to wear a mask,” she told CTV News from Edmonton. “Every single life is somebody’s somebody, right? And I include myself in there, my grandmother died of COVID in a long-term care facility.”
Mundy is prepared for more vitriol, but vowed to keep the site going, because she feels it’s helping others.
So far only businesses in B.C. and Alberta are listed, but the team plans to add retailers from other provinces when they lift their mask mandates.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.