Thought of the Day - August 16 2021 - Our Federal Vaccine Passport

As announced by our Immigration Minister last week, Canada will be getting a vaccine passport.

The passport will include a person’s COVID-19 vaccination history, the dates they received them, the type of jab received, and the location where they received their shot. The passports will be digital with a paper option. As for a timeline, the passport will be ready to go “early this fall,” according to our Intergovernmental Affairs Minister - I would guess, starting in October.

In the meantime, the Federal government still has some work to do. It will need to streamline the feed of vaccination data from each province and territory. As we talked about recently at the federal level it is unknown what type of vaccination almost a quarter of Canadians have received ( Thought of the Day - August 8 2021 - By the Numbers ). Moreover, in order for this passport to do more than just streamline return to Canada, the Feds need to have other countries recognize the credential issued. This, in many cases, will require bilateral agreements.

While the passport is being crafted with international travel in mind, the federal government says they are happy to work with the provinces to use it as a domestic proof-of-vaccination tool.

The announcement comes on the heels of Quebec’s decision to implement a COVID-19 vaccine passport as of September 1st, which the province’s Health Minister also announced last week. Quebec’s vaccine passport will be used for access to non-essential services, like gyms, bars, restaurants and festivals. The province said the proof of vaccination won’t be required for retail stores, and discussions are underway as to whether events like weddings or religious gatherings will use the system.

In contrast, Alberta announced some time ago that it will not use a vaccine passport in the province.

Some businesses and events have been looking for proof of vaccination and to this point, they have been forging their own path. They may now decide instead to piggyback on the government sources.

While the announcements may be good news for some (basically the crowd keen to pollute, I mean return to, vacation destinations) and is far better than my piece of paper sporting the London Drugs livery ( Thought of the Day - May 14 2021 - Vaccine Perks ), thousands took to the streets in Montreal in protest over the weekend.

Simply put, the implementation of vaccine passports implies restrictions for those that are unvaccinated and moves us closer to mandated vaccination. It also reinforces that COVID vaccination is not simply a 2021 phenomenon. Last week, the announcement of a new contract with Moderna for 40M+ doses (to go along with the one signed with Pfizer a few months ago for 35M+ doses) means the plan is for repeat vaccinations for years to come.

Cheers

Cliff