While Manitoba remains under tough pandemic restrictions, one notable change this weekend was approval for thrift stores to reopen and sell non-essential items that are still banned at other stores.
Chris Kerr, district manager of the Salvation Army Thrift Stores, told 680 CJOB it’s big news for many Winnipeg families who rely on the secondhand stores.
“Our customers, our guests that we have coming in our stores, they’ve been without the opportunity to make their own purchases in some cases,” said Kerr.
“Now, luckily for us, following the provincial guidelines, we’re able to sell all our items to them, and that’s made them very happy.”
Kerr said that while the thrift stores offer everything from clothing to kitchen items to electronics, the city’s recent turn to more typical winter weather has created a lot of demand for winter clothing.
And the stores have been packed — although following the 25 per cent capacity restrictions laid out by the province, there have been lineups outside of some locations, he said.
“Everybody was so excited — our employees were excited… and our customers were very excited to see us again, so it was great.”
Donation operations were also shut down due to recent provincial orders, but they’ve since been opened again as well.
“The generous donations that we get from Manitobans every day help us. They allow us to provide product to customers, and of course we provide it at a very reasonable price to them,” said Kerr.
“That money goes back into the community — whether it’s through food banks and hunger relief, shelter for people experiencing homeless, rehabilitation for people struggling through addiction.”
Manitoba’s chief public health official, Dr. Brent Roussin, said the changes come based on feedback from Manitobans that said lower-income families had been negatively affected with the stores forced to close.
Other changes that came into place over the weekend were the allowance of drive-in events such as religious services — provided that only members of the same household are in the vehicle, and no one leaves their cars.
Roussin said Manitobans need to recognize that the 2020 holidays will be drastically different from what they’re used to.
“We know that it’s going to be challenging going into the holiday season — that our holiday season is going to look much different than normal for many Manitobans,” Roussin told media last week.
“But we know that we require these restrictions based on the current numbers, we need to keep our health-care system open for everyone who needs it.”
With files from Shane Gibson
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