Nique closes temporarily after staff quit due to COVID-19 concerns raised by family, owner says
CBC
Some workers at Nique have left because their family members had concerns about the downtown Hamilton restaurant, according to its owner.
The restaurant is one of a handful in Hamilton that have said publicly they will not require staff to ask customers for proof of vaccination. The city says it had bylaw officers visit the restaurant last weekend. Nique is also the subject of a Ministry of Labour investigation.
Harrison Hennick, Nique's owner, said in an interview Thursday that the three workers leaving the restaurant supported his stance on vaccine passports but their family members did not.
"Their parents are in the high-risk population and wouldn't let them [stay]," he said.
In a closed Facebook group for businesses against the vaccine passport, Hennick wrote he needed to close Nique for the next week or two because some workers quit.
"We are looking to hire all positions both back-of-house and front-of-house," he said in the post.
When asked about the post, Hennick confirmed he made it but said that the staff's departure isn't why he closed his doors temporarily. He pointed to the increased attention the restaurant has received. He also said he closed on the advice of his legal counsel.
Intelligence regarding foreign interference sometimes didn't make it to the prime minister's desk in 2021 because Canada's spy agency and the prime minister's national security adviser didn't always see eye to eye on the nature of the threat, according to a recent report from one of Canada's intelligence watchdogs.