TORONTO -- Premier Doug Ford says a contact tracing app that could prevent a “potential second wave” of COVID-19 in Ontario will “possibly” be unveiled on Friday, more than a month later than the original launch date.
The federally-backed COVID Alert app, designed in partnership with Shopify and Blackberry, was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in mid-June with plans to test the software in Ontario before launching the program nationwide.
The app, which Ottawa says is completely voluntary, would use Bluetooth technology to notify its users if they have come into contact with someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
On July 2, the original launch date, Ford said that Ontario was “ready to go” with the app, but suggested that the delay may have been caused by Ottawa wanting to get more provinces onboard.
At the time, Ford had said that the app would create a “protective shield around” residents and urged Ontarians to download the app as soon as it became available.
READ MORE: Ontario will use contact tracing app to prepare for possible second wave of COVID-19
However, on Monday, Ford’s enthusiasm for the forthcoming software seemed to fall flat as he was asked about its value in relation to moving all of Ontario into Stage 3 of the provincial reopening plan.
“So, what I understand, the app, possibly will be coming out Friday, I hear that from the federal government,” Ford said. “But I don't think that will have anything to do with moving forward for Peel and Windsor in Toronto.”
On Monday, Ford announced that more regions would be moving to the next stage of reopening while Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex wait on the sidelines due to their relatively high daily case numbers.
Instead of waiting on the app, Ford said his team would take a more traditional approach and “look at the numbers” before moving the regions to Stage 3.
“As long as they're declining and they're going in the right direction and we consult with the local chief medical officer, that's how it's going to move forward,” Ford said, adding that he is hopeful the move will come sooner rather than later.
Questions over privacy
While Ontario’s Minister of Health Christine Elliott has assured residents that the app has been thoroughly vetted, some privacy experts have expressed concern over the mass data collection of residents through a smartphone app.
In an interview with CTV News in May, Christopher Parsons, a senior research associate at Citizen Lab, part of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Policy, suggested that the app could present a “totally new class or form of surveillance.”
"If the government doesn't communicate what government organizations can or can't collect with any kind of tracing application, it will almost certainly disenfranchise individuals," he said at the time.
READ MORE: 'Invasion of privacy': Watchdogs concerned about apps tracking COVID-19 patients
And some public health units share that view, according to Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu. In June, she admitted that some jurisdictions prefer the contact tracing already being done “the old-fashioned way.”
A week earlier, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien told MPs that he had yet to be consulted about any potential app options and expressed concerns about the adequacy of current privacy laws to protect Canadians should a breach occur with a contact tracing app.
With files from Rachel Aiello and Katherine DeClerq.
