Ontario Vaccine Passports Set to Roll Out September 22

Ontario Vaccine Passports Set to Roll Out September 22

September 1, 2021 ctn_admin

Vaccine passports will be coming to Canada’s most populous province on September 22.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday said proof of vaccination will be required at movie theatres, concert venues, casinos, sporting events and gyms, as well as for indoor dining. It won’t apply to general retail stores for now, however.

The Ford government, which was reluctant to endorse vaccine passports, is calling the program an “enhanced COVID-19 vaccine certificate” system.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Ford said he had “in-depth conversations” with experts based on “evidence and best advice,” the CBC reports.

“We need to protect our hospitals,” Ford said. “We need to avoid lockdowns at all costs. We want our kids in schools, and our businesses to stay open.

“We have two options here,” he said. “We either do this or we risk shutting down the economy, which would even be worse, having our hospital capacity maxed out and at the brink, having our kids stay at home, our college and university kids going back online. That is what we are trying to avoid.”

Ford had repeated rejected the idea, often saying it would create a “split society.” But Quebec has a vaccine passport plan that started Wednesday, and British Columbia also has endorsed the idea.

“It’s no secret this is something I did not want to do,” Ford said.

Rising COVID-19 numbers in Ontario and concerns about the Delta variant likely contributed to Ford’s about-face.

Those eligible for a vaccine certificate must have both doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, which will allow them to visit casinos, concert venues, theatres, cinemas, sporting facilities and events, banquet halls, bingo halls ,convention centres, nightclubs and to eat at indoor food and drink establishments, CTV News reports. Officials said that a certificate is not necessary for retail shopping, salons and barbershops, banks, places of worship, essential services, workplaces or patios and other outdoor spaces.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says the plan violates the rights of Ontario residents.

“Vaccine passports are a blatant and unjustified violation of Charter rights and freedoms,” said Jorge Pineda, Staff Lawyer with the Centre.

“These new regulations impact the choice that Ontarians have over their personal bodily autonomy, they stigmatize the unvaccinated, and they strip away the choice of business owners to decide how they wish to conduct their business,” he said.