Privacy experts concerned about Canada's forthcoming vaccine passport
The federal government is working on a national vaccine passport -- what that will look like and how it could be used is not yet known -- but privacy experts are concerned about how the information would be gathered.
“It’s not just going to be used for travel. People are talking about vaccine passports to get into concerts, to get into baseball games, football games, I mean all kinds of activities globally,” said Ann Cavoukian, executive director of the Global Privacy and Security by Design Centre.
The Toronto Maple Leafs playoff game in May is one example of a major sporting event that required proof of vaccination. Only nurses with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could attend.
“This will create a global, digital infrastructure that will retain our personal information and this will introduce surveillance like we’ve never seen before,” Cavoukian said.
Manitoba is offering immunization cards for people who are fully vaccinated, meanwhile Saskatchewan has said it will not be asking its residents for proof of vaccination.
“Whether you’re vaccinated [or] I’m vaccinated, that is health information and health information is private,” said Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto.
Bowman said if vaccine passports “can be avoided, they should be avoided.”
However, a May survey by Leger found the majority of Canadians are in favour of tracking proof of vaccination.
More than 35 per cent of Canadians have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Pandemics come and go, but experts worry the tracking of public health information could be here to stay.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.