Ontario Liberals want only vaccinated people to be allowed at LCBO and cannabis stores
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca is calling on the Doug Ford government to make proof of vaccination mandatory for access to LCBO and cannabis stores.
Del Duca made the request during a news conference on Tuesday morning, as he discussed Ontario's plans to begin lifting public health restrictions as of Jan. 31.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath also made a similar proposal earlier this week.
"In essence, this is my call out to Doug Ford to say given all of the lessons that we have learned during this pandemic, lessons that I would have hoped that Doug Ford himself would have learned this is not the time to be weak and this is not the time to be half-hearted," Del Duca said.
"We need real responsible and competent leadership at this moment to make sure that as the reopening happens and school starts and as the restrictions start to get lifted, that we are positioned to make sure again that we don't have to go backwards."
The Ford government currently requires that Ontarians present proof of vaccination to dine-in at restaurants and bars and access a number of other non-essential settings, including gyms and theatres.
But it has not extended the vaccine certificate requirements to any retail establishments to date.
In Quebec officials have taken that step and as of Monday residents have to provide proof of vaccination to enter big-box stores with a surface area of more than 1,500 square metres, with the exception of grocery stores or pharmacies.
The province also requires proof of vaccination for access to government-run liquor and cannabis stores.
Speaking with reporters, Del Duca conceded that the Ford government has not shown any interest in expanding the vaccine certificate system program and actually had planned to lift the requirements prior to the detection of the Omicron variant.
Del Duca, however, said that he will keep calling for it “because it is the right thing to do.”
The Liberal leader also said that he will lobby the Ford government to alter the definition of fully vaccinated so that three doses are required.
“We know that workers on the frontlines in retail and healthcare and education are beyond the point of fatigue, they are burned out. We need to make sure that every tool available to us is being used and used appropriately to make sure that we don't go backwards,” he said. “I believe this is that moment to take that extra step to show real responsible, competent and strong leadership.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.