One of the leading advocates for Canada's live music industry is trying to give musicians and fans a clearer look at the country's varied and complex COVID-19 rules.
The Canadian Live Music Association says it recently launched a summary of public health guidelines for live music events across all 10 provinces and three territories.
It says the free resource is intended to provide clarity as COVID-19 restrictions shift with the pandemic and by region, with some areas open for business with safety precautions and others completely shut down.
Each province's rules for live event gatherings is explored in detail, addressing specifics including whether the region requires masking, proof of vaccination or advanced reservation.
The guide also draws on provincial resources to outline capacity restrictions for venues of various sizes.
Association president Erin Benjamin says the guide originally launched last November but underwent a major overhaul Monday to introduce new rules that went into effect in various regions amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
"If you're on a Canadian tour, you're going into so many different jurisdictions and regions and given the way COVID has unfolded it's just been absolutely chaotic," she says.
"There's so much information, so we felt it was our job to do whatever we could to try and synthesize and make sense of that."
The Canadian Live Music Association COVID-19 concert guide can be found at: https://canadianlivemusic.ca/concertguide
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2022.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
