Ontario vaccination certificate requirements don't go far enough, says NDP
New Democrat health critic France Gélinas says Ont. should have used Quebec's vaccine certificate app
Ontario's new vaccination certificate requirements don't go far enough, says provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
As of Wednesday, patrons to certain businesses, such as restaurants, gyms and movie theatres, now need to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 along with a valid piece of photo ID.
But Horwath said more businesses that deal with the public should require proof of vaccination from customers.
"Unvaccinated people can still be in places that require a vaccine certificate — to make a purchase or to work a shift," she said in a news release. "On top of that, the Ford government is not requiring vaccines for places like malls and non-essential retail."
Nickel Belt MPP and NDP health critic France Gélinas told the CBC a lot of her constituents had trouble finding their vaccine receipts.
"I have spent the morning helping people get a copy of their vaccination certificate," she said on Wednesday. "They don't have a printer. They don't know how to go online. The list goes on and on and on."
Gélinas said her office was printing vaccine certificates for constituents who did not have access to a printer.
Quebec's vaccine certificate app
Gélinas added that while not everyone has a smartphone, the province should have had a vaccine certificate app ready on Wednesday.
The Ontario government has said it is working on creating a system of unique QR codes for vaccinated people and an app that businesses can use to scan those codes to quickly confirm a person's vaccination status. But the app is only expected to be available by Oct. 22.
"Why don't we just copy what Quebec has put forward?" Gélinas asked. "Quebec has a QR code that you can put on your phone."
On Aug. 24, Quebec made its vaccine certificate app VaxiCode available to residents.
Gélinas said adopting the same app would have covered more than half of Canada's population. She added she did not trust the province to deliver its app on time and on budget.
"None of the computer apps the government has put forward before in other areas of government business have ever come on time, on budget, and doing what they are supposed to do," she said.