TORONTO – They are necessary but will be temporary. At the moment, in essence, according to the premier of Ontario, in the face of the entry into force of vaccination passes, all that remains is to make a good face to bad game. “It is a very important measure to combat the disease – Ford reiterated today during a conference a few hours after the implementation of the measure – the Green Pass is essential to avoid another lockdown in the province but it is an interim measure”.
The mandatory certification of vaccination accompanied by a photo ID has been required in Ontario since today to access restaurants, discos, cinemas, theaters, gyms, sports facilities, casinos and other places. “These certificates are the best chance we have to get through these next few months without having to go back,” Ford said, “but, let’s be clear, this is a temporary and exceptional measure. We will only use these certificates for as long as necessary and not a day longer.”
Premier Ford did not hide the fact that he had reluctantly given up on the Green Pass: to convince him, he said, were the health experts and the Chief Medical Officer of Health of the province Moore. “It’s no secret that I was reluctant to use this tool, but our biggest concern, what keeps me up at night, is to ensure that the progress we’ve painstakingly made doesn’t fade away,” he said, “we can’t afford to close again, or experience a sudden surge in cases like we’re seeing in other provinces across the country.”
What is needed, now, to set the system in motion, the premier noted, is not to get impatient. “It’s important for each of us to be calm, particularly with the shopkeepers and frontline workers who are implementing the vaccination certificate,” Ford said.
Penalties are possible for companies that do not comply with the controls provided by the system and for customers who provide false information.
The province’s online web portal, where proofs of vaccination certificates and appointments for vaccines are obtained, was out of order today morning for previously scheduled maintenance, which occurs almost weekly: the province says the website is usually not available every week for maintenance from 11 pm on Tuesday to 8 am on Wednesday morning and from 11 am on Saturday to 9 am on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, the arrival of the Green Pass is already a source of friction between the provincial government and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown who says he is concerned that the costs related to the application of Ontario’s new vaccination certificate system, in the event of disputes, will inevitably be “charged to municipalities”.
Businesses have already talked about the fact that the new system will put on their employees the burden of checking documentation and verifying vaccination status, but Brown did not hide the fear that there could also be a “huge new workload” for police officers and law enforcement. Brown also said he views the vaccination certificate program “as an important policy to vaccinate residents and create safe spaces, but said it is “abundantly clear” that municipalities need financial support to help cover some of the costs related to enforcement.
Ford’s response was not long in coming, while stating that it will try to get money from the federal government to allocate it to the right places, it made it clear that Ontario has already provided municipalities with $ 5 billion in funding to help compensate for the losses related to the pandemic and has not committed to making available additional funds related to the system of vaccination certificates.
