On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Marco Medicine announced that there will be a Canadian vaccine passport for international travel soon. He said that “We are working actively with the provinces and territories on a secure, pan-Canadian proof of vaccination for international travel”.
The Canadian vaccine passport will be for all the provinces. This will include pertinent information including the holder’s COVID19 history. Also, it will include information such as the date, type of vaccine, and location where the holder received the vaccine.
The Canadian vaccine passport is going to be available for citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents in Canada.
Canadian Vaccine Passport Ready by Fall
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said that the vaccine passport will be ready “early this fall”. To make the vaccine passport work, officials will need to collate vaccine-related data from different provinces. They will have to centralize everything to have it ready to go. LeBlanc said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised this issue with the premiers multiple times.
LeBlanc added that “We just need to have the secure, safe way to access data in order to produce this proof of vaccine credential”.
Domestic Proof-of-Vaccination Tool
Though the vaccine passport is initially planned for international travel, officials are open if provinces want to make use of it as a tool to check a person’s vaccination status. LeBlanc said that “If the provinces wish to work with us in order to use our federal credentials within their province, we would be happy to work with them”.
Quebec’s Vaccine Passport
Quebec already announced that it is going to have its vaccine passport for non-essential businesses. This includes indoor businesses such as gyms, bars, and restaurants. According to the province officials, retail stores will not require proof of vaccination. However, there are discussions about whether a vaccine passport will be used for religious gatherings, weddings, and other similar events.
The US State Department and the CDC eased on Canada’s travel advisory. Also, Canada announced that it is going to accept vaccinated non-essential US travelers.
