Calgary’s Chamber of Commerce has long been in decline as an advocacy organization for business owners. The vitriolic and immediate opposition from the chamber over the removal of vaccine mandates in Alberta demonstrates how removed that group actually is from business reality..Calgary’s businesses, like most in Canada, are under terrible pressure due to the pandemic and poor government policies. They need support and positive advocacy from groups like the Chamber of Commerce and they aren’t getting it..Chamber President Deborah Yedlin was outraged when Premier Kenney ended the vaccine passport program for Albertans. Yedlin is claiming sales will likely fall as consumers will fear leaving their homes due to the lack of vaccine passports. It should be noted Yedlin has never actually owned or managed a small business that I know of, though she did talk about it a lot as a journalist, and it shows..Yedlin is of the Calgarian elite set who populate roles of prominence in groups that pay well, but do little. Much like Mary Moran with her failed record in running Calgary Economic Development, Yedlin has shown little to no real business acumen in running the Calgary chamber. One needs to have risked capital and run a business in order to gain that. Roles in these organizations have become patronage roles for the connected and they don’t serve the people to whom they’re obliged..To read through the recent tweets from the Calgary chamber is to take a walk through the absurd world of the woke. One would never guess these were tweets from a business advocacy organization and would assume they were reading thoughts from a diversity department in a left-wing university.. chamber2 . chamber3 .Ahh, all the usual progressive buzzwords — such as “vibrancy” and “equity” — are packed in there. All nice fluffy concepts to pursue, but they aren’t what businesses are now concerned about..Businesses are dealing with high taxes, inflation, crime, staffing shortages, and, of course, a loss of customers due to pandemic restrictions. Meanwhile, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce sounds as if it’s a branch of city hall as it promotes everything from more bicycle lanes to transitioning out of oil and gas to “equity” programs..We have a city council and a myriad of other organizations out there to deal with woke issues. Businesses need an actual advocate for business..I owned a pub and restaurant for years. It made money, but it was a tough damn go at the best of times and this was pre-pandemic. The average margin in the industry is under 5%. It’s a sensitive industry and can’t take much economic abuse..The vaccine passport program wiped out 15% of the prospective customer base for restaurants and bars. It also drained resources as staff had to annoy patrons with code scanning and documentation. These may sound like small expenses, but did I mention the industry works on a 5% margin?.Yedlin is claiming sales may drop due to people staying home for fear of their safety because of the lack of vaccine passports..What a load of utter bunk..Omicron proved quite well that vaccines don’t stop the transmission of COVID-19. A person is no less safe going out to a restaurant now that the passports are gone than they were when they were in place. Those people who are too terrified to patronize businesses that don’t demand proof of vaccination were likely too afraid to leave their homes when the vaccine passport program was in place..Businesses are breathing a collective sigh of relief as the vaccine passport mandate is discontinued..Customers vote with their feet and wallets and the hospitality sector will enjoy a boon as the 15% of people who hadn’t been allowed to dine out for months make up for lost time..Businesses should vote with their feet and wallets too. They should flee the Calgary Chamber of Commerce as the organization actually works against their interests..It should be noted while we are Calgary-based, the Western Standard chose to take out a membership with the Strathmore Chamber of Commerce. The Calgary organization offers little value to local businesses..Cory Morgan is Assistant Opinion & Broadcast Editor for the Western Standard.cmorgan@westernstandardonline.com
