TORONTO – Between those who were waiting for nothing else and those who curl their noses, D-day has arrived. From tomorrow, in fact, the Green Pass comes into force in Ontario that makes complete vaccination mandatory for the inhabitants of the province in order to access many non-essential activities.
From tomorrow there is no excuse, all those who enter restaurants, bars, discos, concert halls, gyms and fitness facilities, theaters, cinemas, racecourses, water parks, television studios with the public and cinemas, sports facilities, casinos and playrooms, spaces for meetings and events, strip clubs and bathing establishments will have to prove that they have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days unless they are in possession of a medical exemption.
The copy of the vaccine receipt must be accompanied by a photo ID. To make it all easier, the Ford government said it plans to have an app ready by Oct. 22 that will allow companies to simply scan a QR code to confirm a user’s eligibility to enter.
The vaccination certification in Ontario was not implemented willingly by the premier of the province Doug Ford who after initially opposing a decided no finally capitulated due to the dizzying increase in infections during this fourth wave.
“There are a lot of people concerned about this policy and I want you to know that I keep this in mind. I understand your concerns for the protection of civil liberties and privacy. Although many fully vaccinated people like me share these concerns, the greatest fear is that of having to close again or suffer a sudden surge in cases such as in Alberta and Saskatchewan – said Prime Minister Doug Ford today – this pandemic remains an emergency and there are consequences in the real world caused by not acting. We must continue to do everything we can to protect the progress made in a laborious way in order to be able to guarantee traders the stability they need and deserve.”
Of the Green Pass, Ford, after announcing its future entry into force three weeks ago, has no longer spoken but today, when he apparently congratulated Trudeau on the victory of the Liberal Party in the federal elections, he reiterated the importance of coming out of the pandemic and being able to resume living the pre-Covid daily life.
“We must do everything in our power to avoid future lockdowns and closures. That is why we are introducing these exceptional measures on a temporary basis, measures that we will put an end to as soon as it is possible to do so responsibly – he said – I invite anyone who has not yet been vaccinated, please, to do so as soon as possible”.
Although some companies have objected to the fact that they are being placed on the burden of enforcing the new directive, the idea of requiring people to be vaccinated to access certain activities has received broad support. What is not received as the result of a “logical” reasoning are the exemptions from the obligation to show proof of vaccination when entering closed places such as bars or restaurants: if, for example, you want to use the bathroom of the room, you can access inside. You don’t need to have the Green Pass.
