The Premier promises the passport system won’t be permanent, the Liberal leader feels it should be stricter.
As of Wednesday you are now required to show proof of vaccination along with government issued identification if you want to enter certain businesses or take part in specific services or entertainment.
The passports will not be required for children under the age of 12, or if you have a medical exemption.
“I want to be clear, enforcement will lead with education and will be reasonable to business owners,” explains Premier Doug Ford, “We will continue to rely on individuals to do the right thing. It’s the same sense of the Ontario spirit that has brought us so far. Let me be very clear, this is a temporary and exceptional measure, and we will only use these certificates for as long as they are needed, not a day more.”
Ford went on to say recent COVID-19 case counts have been promising in the province, and that Ontarians’ hard work is “bending the curve.”
The Premier also pointed to the uptake in both first and second doses in Ontario, Wednesday’s update saying 79.4 per cent of people 12 and up are fully vaccinated.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca has been critical of the vaccine passport, saying for months that the province should implement a system such as this.
Del Duca also stressed that the program should be stricter to best prevent the spread of the virus.
“When you’re in the middle of the fourth wave, when we are belatedly rolling out a vaccine certificate that should have been ready to go months ago, this is the kind of mistake that you see when you’re scrambling,” says Del Duca. “I do think if you’re going into a gym or a restaurant it’s not only the customers or the gym-goers that should be vaccinated, the staff should be as well, we’ve said that from the very beginning and I don’t know why there’s that separation there.”
Individuals can provide proof of immunization by downloading or printing their vaccine receipt from the provincial booking portal, or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line at 1-833-943-3900.
If you have any questions about the vaccine passport or how to use it, you can go here.
