Colin and Alyssia DeWolfe - co-owners of Back Alley Fitness - pose in this undated photo--SUBMITTED PHOTO
Wednesday’s announcement that the province will advance to Stage 1 of its COVID-19 relaunch strategy was greeted by many, but at least one local business feels more should be done.
Fitness centres which aren’t listed in Alberta’s strategy until Stage 3 wish they could open their doors to the public along with restaurants, hair salons and other sectors starting today. But safety concerns have them on the outside looking in.
“My gym, if you have 15 people in there it’s a good night,” said Colin DeWolfe, co-owner of Back Alley Fitness. “And we’re slated at the same level as an NHL game. If you can have thousands of people in one location and I can’t have 10, or five, that’s ridiculous.”
Stressed with huge rent payments, almost no income and little to fall back on, DeWolfe is trying to petition the government to give him a break before it’s too late. Premier Jason Kenney said Wednesday that he’s targeting June 19 for Stage 2 of the relaunch plan. If there’s another month before Stage 3, that leaves gyms, sports teams and other large-scale sectors out until at least the end of July.
Federal loan and employment programs only go so far, and DeWolfe feels the pandemic statistics allow out a widening of the provincial plan. Alberta projected 600 hospitalizations by mid-May, for example, but as of Wednesday there were only 70.
“Clearly this thing is not nearly as bad as what as they projected, which is wonderful,” he said. “But they’re proceeding as if it was that projection still.
“In another month and a half I can’t feed my family, I can’t pay my mortgage, I have to bankrupt my business.”
He’s written letters to the premier’s office, talked to local MLA Drew Barnes and joined a national fitness lobby group with hopes to create some momentum.
Not all smaller gyms in the city are in the same boat. Temple Fitness co-owner Bruce Foerster says while they’d open with restrictions if allowed, the plan is to keep connecting with clients online and ride out the economic storm.
“I’ve taken the mindset I’m no different than anybody else … it’s different for everybody,” said Foerster. “It’s hard to navigate. We’ve been trying to do what we can do and try to do it to the best of our ability, because what other choice do you have? “
On the flip side, Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce executive director Lisa Kowalchuk says some businesses are choosing not to re-open yet, given that the province only provided sector-specific guidelines Monday and officially announced the relaunch at around 4 p.m. Wednesday – roughly 15 hours before Stage 1 businesses would be able to open.
“There’s different opinions on both sides of the spectrum with regards to this, so we’re encouraging businesses to do what they feel is best for their company, their business, and to ensure they’re following the guidelines so we can prevent the spread (of COVID-19), keep this manageable,” said Kowalchuk, who created a five-step plan on the chamber website for businesses looking to re-open. “The last thing we would want is for our community to go into a situation where we have an increase of cases, and we’re in a second wave where we have to have additional restrictions again.”
That doesn’t make the waiting game any easier for Back Alley Fitness. DeWolfe believes those concerns might be fair when it comes to large-scale gyms with hundreds of visitors, but not when his 3,500-square foot facility can give plenty of distance for each member.
“Small group settings that don’t violate the restrictions that are already put in place, I don’t see how you can say these are restrictions for everybody,” he noted.
Problem is, as Foerster notes, how can the government provide a different set of rules for each unique business?
“I would hope the government is doing their best in terms of figuring out who to let re-open or when,” he said. “To subcategorize would be an impossible task. They’ve already divided industries; how do you then subdivide on top of that? I don’t know how you do it. I wouldn’t want that job.”
