A deep look at who’s wearing their masks and who isn’t – You’ll be surprised at who’s following the rules and who isn’t
This past Saturday, July 18th marked the first day in which the mask and/or face-covering became mandatory indoors at local businesses. As a trending video surfaced on the internet of a Montréal man refusing to wear a mask inside a local Tim Horton’s right here in Park Extension, it became pretty apparent that the new rules should be followed at all costs.
We decided to take a look at some of the supermarkets in the area to see if the new rules implemented were in fact being abided by. The investigation took place during the afternoon of July 18th after 3pm.
Super Marche Liege
Inside, the market was kept very cool, despite hot temperatures outside. The store was neat and tidy, shelves not overstocked but all items abundant. All workers that we saw across the board were wearing masks, that included the butcher at the back, the bakery nestled into one side of the small grocery and the hot foods counter where foods were available for take-away. As for the patrons themselves, one out of five wasn’t wearing a mask while we conducted our investigation.
The register itself was behind a large Plexiglas shield where the cashier sat, her eyes smiling and kind behind her very own mask.
Aliments JPA Limited
First off, they had a sign pinned up on the door. It was hand-written, but it clearly stated that a mask was needed to enter. Once inside, we looked around, at all the departments. The cashier here too was behind Plexiglas, and she too was wearing a mask. Each of the workers we saw were wearing masks. What was interesting to see during our observation was when an elderly woman entered without a mask, one of the workers who was speaking with the cashier at that very moment, kindly told the lady to step back outside. He proceeded to bring her a box which the cashier handed to him filled with what looked like blue medical masks and she obliged by putting it on.
It was at that point during the investigation that we announced our presence and asked a few questions—questions which they were all willing to answer. We even got a tour … a Mr. Vaslos, one of the butchers, showed us his own supply of masks, and we got a very good look at the working area which was very clean and tidy. He said that they were “very committed to keeping the neighborhood safe and doing our part to get rid of this virus,” all the while providing quality food to the neighborhood.
Mr. Tamoor, who is the son of the owner and who was managing the shop that day, told us that his workers were all very good about following the rules, and the patrons that needed to be reminded to put a mask on complied, most of them regulars.
Provigo
We then decided to hit up one of the larger chains in the area, and really, who bigger than Provigo?
Right on the corner of Hutchison and Jean-Talon, Provigo sits at the back of a small park and behind Parc Metro station. The building itself looks very much like a museum, especially the Joe Fresh side of the operation, which looked empty on that particular Saturday afternoon. In the park itself, no one at all was social distancing … especially a group of about six to eight people, sitting at one picnic table; the masks they did have, placed on their heads, on their chins, or in their hands, flailing about in the gentle wind billowing through the trees.
We entered Provigo, where the now familiar sight of a sink and a paper towel roll was waiting. There was an attendant there, but once I opened the water faucet, he went outside, stepping into the sun’s rays without watching me complete my endeavor.
While drying our hands, we entered, spying more than one employee emerging from the rest rooms without a mask or face-covering. They eventually did put one on, but not before quite some time.
We took a walk around the store … as for the patrons themselves, most everyone was wearing a mask, some designer, some medical. What we found interesting is we witnessed more than one removing the mask to speak on cell phones, answering calls.
We tracked down a manager, who seemingly couldn’t walk away fast enough. When we asked him if clients were complying to the new rule, he nearly walked into a bin of food while simply saying: “Ca bien été.”
We noticed that all employees … at the restaurant, the fish department, the bakery and even the butcher were all wearing face-coverings, as were all cashiers and attendants; even at the employee food court or break room, which could be seen from downstairs. Employees seemed to be wearing masks, all the while buried in their respective cell phones.
However every employee we came across and asked a few questions to seemed a little less willing to talk to us for some.
In the end it came down to a smaller chain
Regardless, it was impressive to see how a smaller operation is working through and handling the laws given to us because of this epidemic—refreshing in fact—and we thank them for doing their part.
