Reminder of business occupancy standards in Quebec

While we have just completed the first weekend of the Quebec government’s occupancy standards for businesses, we believe it is useful to review these measures.

• Number of clients admitted: The capacity must respect the following ratio: Floor area accessible to customers in m² ÷ by 20 m² = number of people authorized at the same time in the establishment.
  • Employees are not included in the number of authorized persons.
  • For the purposes of calculation, it is important to exclude warehouse spaces and spaces that are not accessible to the public. In this regard, here is an excerpt from the ministerial order: “For the purposes of this order, ‘sales area’ means the total area reserved for sale, sales-related services and the public for access to products and services, including traffic areas, payment areas and, where appropriate, food preparation areas where the person assigned to it is also responsible for serving customers.”
• Accommodation: It is mandatory to display the capacity of your institution as calculated according to the government rule.
• Social distancing: This occupancy standard must be applied in conjunction with the control of social distancing both inside the  store and in the queues outside your business. In addition, the measures to ensure people are disinfecting their hands, and that customer access is limited only to essential items are also important.

These rules have been put in place to avoid the closure of non-essential businesses. It is important to respect them and make sure you take the necessary measures to know the number of customers present in your establishment in real time.

In addition, when asked about a possible closure of shops, the Minister of Health said at a press conference yesterday afternoon that he wanted to first ensure that the measures in place were properly  implemented. It  is therefore likely that the authorities will carry out inspections in shops  and shopping malls and that they will not hesitate  to crack down on offenders.

RCC has been in the media extensively over the past few days to report on the implementation of the measures and to ensure that isolated cases remain isolated. We have invested a great deal of energy to ensure that the public, some mall managers and the government feel that we are investing in the maintenance of retail.