Simcoe Muskoka residents required to show vaccination proof under Ontario's plan
Simcoe Muskoka residents are required to provide proof of vaccination status starting Sept. 22 to access certain indoor public settings and facilities as the Ontario government imposes the COVID-19 vaccine certificate.
"The vaccine is the best tool we have to keep people safe," Premier Doug Ford said.
Residents will need to provide vaccination proof and photo identification to enter restaurants, bars, nightclubs, event spaces and banquet halls, fitness and recreational facilities, sporting events, casinos, bingo halls, concerts and racing venues.
"Enforcement will be led by bylaw officers," Ford added.
The premier said the measure was "temporary."
"We will only use these certificates for as long as they are needed and not one day longer," Ford noted.
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's medical officer of health reacted to the announcement, saying the certificate would lead to a "safer community" amid the fourth wave.
Dr. Charles Gardner called the vaccination certificate a "very important and commendable advancement on the part of the provincial government."
Fines for individuals found not complying start at $750, and businesses start at $1,000.
However, the Simcoe Muskoka health unit said enforcement would start with education on the vaccine's benefits and how the certificate program works.
WHERE RESIDENTS WON'T NEED VACCINE CERTIFICATE
Ontario's health minister assured that no one would be denied access to medical care, food from grocery stores, or basic essentials.
The province said the requirements don't apply to outdoor settings where the risk of spreading the virus is low, including outdoor patios.
Additionally, the province said the vaccine certificate wouldn't be required for retail shopping, salons, banks, places of worship, and take-out or delivery of food services.
LOCAL REACTION FROM BUSINESS OWNERS
Simcoe Muskoka's top doctor said he would support the vaccine certificate being in place for the entirety of the fourth wave, adding, "that could very well be for many weeks."
Justin Kim, a gym owner in Barrie, said he has mixed feelings about the announcement.
"On the one hand, I believe it may be a pathway to allow gyms to remain open through this fourth wave. But on the other hand, I think people who have made the decision not to be vaccinated are being deprived of their best defence against COVID, which is physical fitness and good metabolic health," said Kim, owner of The Movement Headquarters Inc.
Ford suggested it would be each business' responsibility to check customer's proof of vaccination. "We will rely on people and businesses to do the right thing."
Enrico Angelucci, co-owner of Il Buco, said they would "follow instruction from the government."
"We are not going to have a choice," he said.
Angelucci added that he expects to lose business because of the vaccine certificate requirements.
"From the beginning, the [government] told us to close the restaurant. We closed the restaurant. They told us to do the count, and we did the count. Now they are going to tell us to expect people to be double vaccinated and see this passport. If that is what's they want, that's what we are going to do."
HOW TO GET A VACCINE CERTIFICATE
Vaccinated residents should have a paper copy or email version of their vaccination status.
The province said it would develop additional tools to improve the certificate, including a new verification app.
Individuals will be required to show their vaccination receipt and another photo ID to access specific non-essential venues.
"This is a temporary tool that we won't use for a day longer than we have to," the premier added.
Residents with a green health card can log in to the provincial portal to download or print their vaccine receipt.
Anyone with a white and red health card can call the Provincial Vaccine Booking Line at 1-888-999-6488 to get a copy of their vaccination receipt by email.
NO CELL PHONE, NO PROBLEM
Print your proof of vaccination at the Barrie Library free of charge.
Public libraries are not included in the list of settings requiring proof of immunization, so residents who can't print certificates at home or download them can head to the library for a copy.
The staff at either library will offer assistance if needed to print a vaccine receipt.
What you need:
- Bring your health card to fill out the online form
- Head to the province's website to access your vaccine receipt
- Once the form is complete, print it from a public computer at the library
- Make sure staff know you are printing your vaccine receipt, and they will waive the printing fee.
Some residents have chosen to laminate their receipts for safe keeping, however, it's not necessary.
With files from CTV News Toronto
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Police will not be charged in death of Indigenous man in B.C., mother says
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021, according to the man's mother.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.