BC Events Industry Urges Province to Reopen After Being Denied Government Help

Province's COVID-19 policies are disproportionately hurting the wedding and events industry, companies say

Liting Chang, owner of Paradise Events, says the B.C. government's COVID-19 policies have unfairly punished the wedding event industry. (Handout)

Struggling wedding and event companies say British Columbia’s current COVID-19 rules don’t add up, and are calling on the province to allow indoor wedding receptions with safety plans in place.

Paige Petriw, owner of Spotlight Events, wrote an open letter to the B.C. government that highlighted how the $1.2 billion wedding event industry is being ignored and denied funding support.

With wedding event industry revenues plunging 70–90 percent since March 2020, Petriw says some operators in B.C. now face bankruptcy or have already sold their homes to survive.

“When weddings and events are shut down, the impact on our industry extends 6-12 months minimum beyond the lockdown period,” she said in the letter. “We will not survive one more shutdown.”

Under current provincial health orders, indoor venues like restaurants and hockey stadiums are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity, while indoor organized events such as weddings and funerals are not.

“It’s extremely frustrating and devastating, just the inconsistency of the policies,” Petriw told The Epoch Times. “The government basically shut down the market. We’re being completely left behind.”

Because event companies are not ordered to fully close and can remain operating outdoors, they aren’t eligible for B.C.’s COVID-19 Closure Relief Grant program.

But demand for outdoor weddings and special events in the winter is a tiny fraction compared to the rest of the year, companies say.

“Being told that we aren’t forced to close when our books show a 92 percent drop, is like telling you that you’re still able to perform a task with your hands tied behind your back,” said Kirsty Provan, owner of Pacific Fairytales, a children’s event company.

On Jan. 19, the government said it was extending the relief program and doubling financial support for eligible businesses that were ordered to remain closed until Feb. 16. Eligible businesses include indoor event venues that have had to shut down and cancel events, as well as gyms and fitness centres, and bars and nightclubs that don’t serve full meals.

The Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation said in an email that the grant program is meant to complement existing federal COVID-19 business supports including those that offer up to 50 percent in rent and wage subsidies for businesses that remained open but experienced a drop in revenue due to the pandemic.

“We know this is a very challenging time for businesses—especially those businesses that are directly impacted by recent public health measures,” the ministry said.

Petriw says with only federal support available, wedding event businesses have just enough to keep the lights on and can’t re-hire laid off staff.

“Our industry here in B.C., at the discretion of our provincial government, has been mandated to be shut down essentially,” she said. “We’re being disproportionately affected by that, so we should be disproportionately supported.”

The B.C. government said its representatives and the office of Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, have been meeting regularly with the event sector and wedding planners to address their concerns.

But event companies that spoke with The Epoch Times say they haven’t engaged in any recent discussions with the government.

“I feel like we’re a forgotten industry to be honest,” said Liting Chan, owner of Paradise Events, a Burnaby-based wedding design and planning company. “Our industry has been punished because we’re mostly made up of small businesses that aren’t backed up by a big organization.”

Chan says the government has failed to consider the nature of the events business. Unlike restaurants that can reopen on short notice as provincial COVID-19 policies shift, a wedding takes between eight and 18 months to plan.

With ongoing restrictions for nearly two years, Chan said many couples have cancelled, postponed their wedding plans, or significantly cut down on guest invitations.

Last summer when restrictions eased, Chan hosted a handful of weddings with an average guest size of 50 people, down from around 250 before the pandemic began. As for new clients booking weddings for this year and in 2023, she says confidence remains shaky, with most remaining below 100 guests.

The industry is asking to meet with the Ministry of Health to outline a plan to allow event companies to “operate professionally managed indoor events and gatherings under specific guidelines and restrictions,” according to Petriw’s letter.

The first priority for the industry is for the government to clearly define professionally managed events and non-professional personal gatherings.

“We’re not just throwing a party in your backyard,” Petriw said. “We’re asking to work together with the government to operate professionally managed events at venues that are already heavily regulated by the provincial health authority.”

The Epoch Times asked the Ministry of Health about plans to safely reopen the event industry, but did not hear back by press time.

Restrictions around gathering sizes are set to expire on Feb. 16. Health Minister Adrian Dix told CBC Radio on Feb. 7 that the province is currently on track to see those eased or lifted. He added that test positivity is declining, as well as hospitalizations.

On Feb. 4, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Tam said that the country needs to find a more “sustainable” way to deal with the pandemic. That includes re-examining existing COVID-19 policies, including restrictions and vaccine cards.

Petriw said she agrees with Tam’s statement. The events industry is asking the B.C. government to provide a clear path in the months ahead with some certainty around social events.

“As long as health order restrictions on organized events and gatherings continue to flip flop, we will not begin to recover,” Petriw’s letter noted.

“I think we have to learn to live with this virus,” she said. “The prolonged depriving of essential social connection has not only led to financial struggles, but also personal struggles, separation, divorce, mental health issues, and time away from kids.”