Wedding, funeral industries call for reintroduction of COVID-19 safety measures
After B.C. gyms were given the go-ahead to reopen with COVID-19 safety plans last week, the wedding and funeral industries are calling for the same treatment.
Indoor, organized gatherings in B.C. have been banned since Dec. 23, when the province introduced new restrictions to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Those restrictions were extended on Jan. 18.
Liting Chan runs Paradise Events, a Burnaby-based studio that specializes in weddings. She said her business has already lost $50,000 in revenue for January and fears what the rest of the year will look like given the amount of planning that’s needed for a wedding.
“When you shut down completely, it’s not just one month, it’s an entire year, and this is our third year, so we cannot handle another year,” Chan said.
Chan is part of a growing social media movement calling for the reopening of the events industry in a safe way. The hashtags #ReopenBCWeddings and #SaveBCEvents are being used on Instagram to promote the stories of industry members. They’re asking for a return of the COVID-safety plans that allowed events to go ahead last year at venues with mask-wearing, spacing and no dancing.
“When there are rules put into place for other business like restaurants, sports events, even casinos, I don't see a difference from that,” Chan said.
Those who organize funerals and celebration of life events want the same kind of treatment. Under the Public Health guidelines, those events can be held at a church or funeral home, where they can be classified as a “worship gathering.”
Emily Bootle, a death-care provider with Koru Cremation Burial Ceremony in Vancouver, said those two venues don’t make sense for many people.
“The family is choosing a venue very intentionally that’s connected to their loved one,” Bootle said. “They want to go to restaurants, they want to go to community centres, they want to go to facilities and venues that are in the community.”
Bootle said she’s had to explain the rules to many people who are grieving, saying it’s been a “really excruciating process” to walk through with them. Most are choosing to delay ceremonies altogether, she said.
“Our bereaved are very silently and secretly wounded people,” Bootle said.
Both Bootle and Chan said those in their industries already know how to hold safe events, given they were doing it at certain points through 2021. They’re calling for public health officials to allow the same plans to be implemented now.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.