British Columbia’s retail workers deserve protection

Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is asking the province of British Columbia to enact a mandatory mask mandate for appropriate indoor public spaces as it will greatly help retail workers and store owners who experience aggressive behaviour from customers not wishing to wear face coverings.  When customers refuse to wear masks in stores, it puts workers and other consumers at risk.

Retailers have followed the province’s existing advice – adding masks to COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plans and placing signage asking consumers to wear masks for public safety.  Many retail stores also provide free masks to customers who arrive without them.

Wearing masks has been recommended by the government of Canada for the past many months in order to prevent and limit community spread of COVID-19.  Many provinces have further implemented their own mandatory mask orders and we urgently ask British Columbia to follow suit as a means of protecting those that work in retail.

The retail industry continues to work closely with all levels of government and public health agencies to ensure the health, safety and security of all employees, consumers and citizens.  We are stronger together.

Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada

For more information or to schedule media interviews, contact:
Michelle Wasylyshen
mwasylyshen@retailcouncil.org

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail is Canada’s largest private sector employer.  Over 308,000 British Columbians worked in our industry before the onset of the crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector annually generates over $11 billion (2018 data) in wages and employee benefits for British Columbians. Core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) in B.C. were $56.4 billion in 2019.  Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is a not-for-profit industry-funded association that represents small, medium and large retail businesses in every community across the country. As the Voice of Retail™, we proudly represent more than 21,000 British Columbian storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, pharmacy, specialty, discount, independent retailers and online merchants.  www.RetailCouncil.org