'We're not gonna have a split society': Doug Ford rules out a provincial 'vaccine passport'
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in the strongest terms yet Thursday that the province will not create a vaccine passport that would allow people to signal to businesses and other organizations that they have been vaccinated.
“The answer is no, we're not gonna do it. We're not gonna have a split society,” Ford told reporters in response to a question about creating vaccine passports Thursday at the first press conference he has held in some time.
He said people get proof of vaccination when they get their shot, though he acknowledged that the slips can be forged or falsified. But beyond that, the province will not be creating some sort of digital proof of vaccination as some people have urged.
“I just, no. We aren’t doing it. It’s as simple as that. We’re just gonna move forward,” Ford said. “Now if it's federal – getting across the border – that's up to the federal government. We'll see what they decide to do.”
While the federal government is developing a vaccine passport that would allow Canadians to signal to other countries that they have been vaccinated, some have called for local “vaccine passports,” perhaps in the form of a digital app, that would allow people to show proof of vaccination at businesses and events.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has called for such a system to be developed, as has the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
TRBT CEO Jan De Silva told CP24 earlier this week that it would be a way for businesses to help ensure that they are able to stay open after having been shut down and/ or severely restricted for nearly a year and a half.
Some post-secondary institutions have already said that students will need to be fully vaccinated in order to return to campus in-person. Quebec has also said that it plans to use some sort of proof of vaccination to limit access to nonessential services if that province’s COVID-19 situation worsens in the fall.
However Ford said Thursday that he doesn’t plan on telling businesses who they should and should not serve and pointed out that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has said that he is not in favour of such a system either.
“I'm not in favour of a mandatory certification. I'm just not at all and neither by the way, is the chief medical officer. I've always said from day one; I listen to my chief medical officer. He's saying there's no reason.”
The premier also ruled out the possibility of making vaccinations mandatory, including for health care workers.
“No, hard no,” he said when asked whether he would consider the move.
He pointed to Ontario’s relatively high vaccine uptake, with close to 80 per cent of the population having received at least one dose, and said the province will continue to encourage every resident to get vaccinated.
“Folks just please go get vaccinated, that's all I can ask.”
Figures released by the province Thursday show that 79.6 per cent of adults 18+ have had at least one vaccine dose while 59. 5 per cent are fully vaccinated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.