Downtown merchants worried about G-8 vandalism are up in arms about a federal compensation program that forces them to stay open during the summit.
The plan offers one-time payments to applicants who suffer financial loss due to extraordinary security measures during the two-day summit next Wednesday and Thursday.
Business owners, such as Michael Greenberg of Micah Gallery, criticized the government for requiring merchants to stay open during G-8 or be ineligible for compensation.
"It's an inappropriate position for the government to take," said Greenberg, whose gallery is two doors from the designated G-8 media centre at Telus Convention Centre.
"If individuals who have the responsibility and liability of both their employees and their customers feel there is an extreme risk and want to close their door, they should have that option and still have access to compensation."
Business representatives said the government has created a dilemma for merchants.
"I worry if an employee gets hurt in a store, the business owner is going to be liable for that through Workers' Compensation Board or other means," said Dan Kelly, Prairie region vice-president for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"We're certainly not advocating that businesses close down, but that certainly is an option that is on the list of things to be considered. That limitation of the compensation package doesn't allow businesses to fully consider all of their options."
A government spokeswoman said the program is not meant to finance paid vacations.
"The guidelines very, very specifically state, that in order to be eligible to submit a claim, you must be open for business," said Judy Kohut, of the federal public works and government services department.
"This isn't an opportunity for somebody to have an additional summer vacation. You want to remain open for business unless you're advised by security personnel that it's wise to close your doors."
Businesses advised by security to close would be eligible for compensation, said Kohut, who met Wednesday with downtown merchants to discuss the package.
One restaurant manager, who plans to open her business during the summit, said she's satisfied with the compensation package.
"It's nice to know there are systems in place in case something does happen," said Patricia Insole, general manager of Teatro Restaurant.
The plan places the onus on business owners and citizens to pay for extra insurance to guard against potential damage by protesters at the summit of leaders of G-8 countries.
But some merchants are having difficulties securing additional insurance.
"One of our members was renewing their insurance policy and there's a big waiver on any damage due to so-called terrorism. It's a very, very broad coverage. There is no insurance in many instances available for that," said the CFIB's Kelly.
Greenberg has been told he's covered for vandalism, but not terrorism.
"Well, what's the difference between the two under a circumstance like this? I can't get a straight answer from the insurance companies and I can't get a straight answer from the government," he said, adding terrorism insurance is prohibitively expensive.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.