Ontario residents will soon have to show proof they’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to dine indoors at restaurants and go to gyms and theatres — but not necessarily to enter retail locations — the province announced Wednesday.
The “enhanced COVID-19 vaccine certificate” system, as the Ontario government is calling it, will come into effect on Sept. 22.
At a news conference Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford said the new system came from “in-depth conversations” with experts based on “evidence and best advice.”
“We need to protect our hospitals; we need to avoid lockdowns at all costs. We want our kids in schools, and our businesses to stay open,” he said.
At first, fully vaccinated Ontarians will need their current vaccination receipt with a valid photo identification to enter premises covered under the new system.
The receipts can be printed or downloaded as a PDF file to smartphones. “Fully vaccinated” here means having had two doses, with the most recent at least 14 days prior. Neither a recent COVID-19 infection nor a recent negative test will substitute for two shots, officials said at a morning briefing for media.
During the briefing, officials said the enhanced certificate system is meant to be temporary, though how long it remains in place will depend on how the fourth wave of the pandemic unfolds in coming months.
The government says that on Oct. 22, it will shift to certificates that include QR codes containing much of the same information included on the vaccination receipts that are already available. That shift will be accompanied by the release of a “verification app” that can be used to validate the QR codes and provide the vaccination status of an individual.
Ontario to introduce vaccine certificate by Sept. 22
4 hours ago
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, responding to intense pressure, is introducing a COVID-19 vaccine certificate, which will limit residents’ entry to certain non-essential businesses. 1:15
Officials said the purpose of the app is to relieve businesses and facilities from having to determine whether a patron has been vaccinated or not.
The intention is that the enhanced certificates be usable in other provinces with vaccine passport systems in place, and eventually for them to be integrated with the federal passport for international travel, officials said.
“We need to be proactive to avoid reactive closures,” said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore Wednesday. He said this also will be an incentive for more people to get vaccinated.
“Immunization is key to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our most vulnerable.”
Where will proof be needed?
The vaccine certificate system will cover “higher-risk” indoor spaces where masks can’t be worn at all times, officials said. It applies to the following settings:
Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, delivery and takeout).
Nightclubs, including outdoor areas.
Meeting and event spaces like banquet halls and convention centres.
Sports and fitness facilities and gyms, with the exception of youth recreational sports.
Sporting events.
Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments.
Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas.
Strip clubs, bath houses and sex clubs.
Racing venues.
System doesn’t apply to employees
The vaccine certificate system does not apply to employees in these settings.
Essential retail, like grocery stores, are exempt, as are places of worship and hair salons, alongside other personal care businesses. Health Minister Christine Elliott stressed Wednesday that “at no time” will people be denied medical care or food from grocery stores, regardless of vaccine status.
The system also exempts children who are ineligible for vaccines (those born in 2010 and later in Ontario) and provides for personal medical exemptions that will be reflected in the impending QR codes, officials said.
The verification app will be made available to all businesses, allowing non-essential retailers not covered in the listed settings to implement their own vaccination policies for patrons, officials said.
Enforcement measures for the certificate system will fall under the Reopening Ontario Act, officials said. Businesses, facilities and individuals who refuse to comply can face fines.
A patron gets a haircut at Queen West Barbers on June 30. Essential retail settings are exempt from the province’s new system, as are hair salons, barber shops and other personal care businesses, alongside places of worship. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
There are still several critical elements of the plan under development, officials said, and more specific guidance is expected in the coming days and weeks.
Asked why retail settings are not included in this plan, Moore said that the province is trying to be as “evidence-based as possible” in its decision-making.
“The venues we have chosen are responsive to the risk we’ve found in Ontario,” he said. If cases rise in other venues, he said more restrictions can be added.
Move comes after days of deliberations
The changes come after two days of deliberations by the premier and his cabinet. A source with knowledge of the discussions told CBC/Radio-Canada that an initial proposal readied on Monday had been rejected.
Sources said last week that some members of the Progressive Conservative cabinet were against the province implementing its own vaccine certificate system like those introduced in Quebec, B.C. and Manitoba.
Until recently, Ford and Elliott had both repeatedly said that Ontario would not follow the initiatives taken in other provinces. Earlier this summer, Ford told reporters he thought a vaccine passport would create a “split society.”
The pair also insisted that the vaccine receipts currently available from the province would be a suitable alternative to a passport system.
Critics have said the receipts are susceptible to forgery, and officials at the briefing tacitly acknowledged as much, saying QR codes would be more secure.
A health-care worker administers a vaccine at a pop-up vaccine clinic at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack in May. Provincial officials again asked Wednesday that any Ontarian who has not yet been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to get their shot. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)
Pressure mounting as 4th wave continues
Pressure has mounted on Ford and his government from a myriad of physicians, infectious disease specialists and business groups to institute such a system as the province navigates a fourth wave of the pandemic.
Ford said Wednesday that it is “no secret” that he “wasn’t in favour of this,” but he decided it was necessary based on advice from the province’s medical officer of health.
“This is something that I did not want to do … I know this is going to be very difficult for some people,” Ford said.
Asked why he only chose to act now after months of calls for some sort of proof-of-vaccination system, Ford pointed fingers at the federal government, saying his decision was prompted in part by the fact that there would be no national vaccine passport.
In a statement issued after Ford’s news conference, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said the province’s announcement provides some clarity on a new system for small business owners, but also leaves many concerns and questions unanswered. Chief among them, the statement says, are issues around fraud, enforcement, training for businesses that have to check credentials, and how shops will recognize out-of-province and out-of-country vaccinations.
The CFIB also said that it is “disappointing” that the province is adding additional requirements without first removing capacity restrictions for businesses. It is calling on the government to provide additional aid to businesses to offset costs that may be incurred by the new rules.
Infection risk higher in unvaccinated people, officials say
Millions of students in Ontario are also set to return to classrooms next week, with children born in 2010 and later still not eligible to be vaccinated against the virus. The highly infectious delta variant continues to circulate in Ontario, although indicators show its spread has slowed in recent weeks.
As of Tuesday, 76.4 per cent of eligible Ontarians had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, or roughly 67.7 per cent of the province’s total population.
Officials said today that the latest data suggests that unvaccinated people have a seven-fold higher risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms than those with both shots. Moreover, unvaccinated people have a 27-fold higher risk of ending up in hospital and a 42-fold higher risk of needing intensive care.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist in Toronto and former member of Ontario’s now-disbanded COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force, applauded the introduction of a passport system but cautioned that it is not a panacea for ending the pandemic.
“Vaccine passports will not end the pandemic. They will not create perfectly safe indoor spaces,” he said in a series of Twitter posts. “They are an added layer of protection to help create safer indoor spaces.”
Netflix on Thursday reported that its subscriber growth slowed dramatically during the summer, a sign the huge gains from the video-streaming service’s crackdown on freeloading viewers is tapering off.
The 5.1 million subscribers that Netflix added during the July-September period represented a 42% decline from the total gained during the same time last year. Even so, the company’s revenue and profit rose at a faster pace than analysts had projected, according to FactSet Research.
Netflix ended September with 282.7 million worldwide subscribers — far more than any other streaming service.
The Los Gatos, California, company earned $2.36 billion, or $5.40 per share, a 41% increase from the same time last year. Revenue climbed 15% from a year ago to $9.82 billion. Netflix management predicted the company’s revenue will rise at the same 15% year-over-year pace during the October-December period, slightly than better than analysts have been expecting.
The strong financial performance in the past quarter coupled with the upbeat forecast eclipsed any worries about slowing subscriber growth. Netflix’s stock price surged nearly 4% in extended trading after the numbers came out, building upon a more than 40% increase in the company’s shares so far this year.
The past quarter’s subscriber gains were the lowest posted in any three-month period since the beginning of last year. That drop-off indicates Netflix is shifting to a new phase after reaping the benefits from a ban on the once-rampant practice of sharing account passwords that enabled an estimated 100 million people watch its popular service without paying for it.
The crackdown, triggered by a rare loss of subscribers coming out of the pandemic in 2022, helped Netflix add 57 million subscribers from June 2022 through this June — an average of more than 7 million per quarter, while many of its industry rivals have been struggling as households curbed their discretionary spending.
Netflix’s gains also were propelled by a low-priced version of its service that included commercials for the first time in its history. The company still is only getting a small fraction of its revenue from the 2-year-old advertising push, but Netflix is intensifying its focus on that segment of its business to help boost its profits.
In a letter to shareholder, Netflix reiterated previous cautionary notes about its expansion into advertising, though the low-priced option including commercials has become its fastest growing segment.
“We have much more work to do improving our offering for advertisers, which will be a priority over the next few years,” Netflix management wrote in the letter.
As part of its evolution, Netflix has been increasingly supplementing its lineup of scripted TV series and movies with live programming, such as a Labor Day spectacle featuring renowned glutton Joey Chestnut setting a world record for gorging on hot dogs in a showdown with his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi.
Netflix will be trying to attract more viewer during the current quarter with a Nov. 15 fight pitting former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson against Jake Paul, a YouTube sensation turned boxer, and two National Football League games on Christmas Day.
REGINA – Saskatchewan’s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:
Saskatchewan Party
— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.
— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.
— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.
— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.
— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.
— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.
— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults
— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.
— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.
— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.
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NDP
— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.
— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.
— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.
— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.
— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.
— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.
— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.
— Scrap the marshals service.
— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.
— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – More than a million British Columbians have already cast their provincial election ballots, smashing the advance voting record ahead of what weather forecasters say will be a rain-drenched election day in much of B.C., with snow also predicted for the north.
Elections BC said Thursday that 1,001,331 people had cast ballots in six days of advance voting, easily breaking a record set during the pandemic election four years ago.
More than 28 per cent of all registered electors have voted, potentially putting the province on track for a big final turnout on Saturday.
“It reflects what I believe, which is this election is critically important for the future of our province,” New Democrat Leader David Eby said Thursday at a news conference in Vancouver. “I understand why British Columbians are out in numbers. We haven’t seen questions like this on the ballot in a generation.”
He said voters are faced with the choice of supporting his party’s plans to improve affordability, public health care and education, while the B.C. Conservatives, led by John Rustad, are proposing to cut services and are fielding candidates who support conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and espouse racist views.
Rustad held no public availabilities on Thursday.
Elections BC said the record advance vote tally includes about 223,000 people who voted on the final day of advance voting Wednesday, the last day of advance polls, shattering the one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 40,000 votes.
The previous record for advance voting in a B.C. election was set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when about 670,000 people voted early, representing about 19 per cent of registered voters.
Some ridings have now seen turnout of more than 35 per cent, including in NDP Leader David Eby’s Vancouver-Point Grey riding where 36.5 per cent of all electors have voted.
There has also been big turnout in some Vancouver Island ridings, including Oak Bay-Gordon Head, where 39 per cent of electors have voted, and Victoria-Beacon Hill, where Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is running, with 37.2 per cent.
Advance voter turnout in Rustad’s riding of Nechako Lakes was 30.5 per cent.
Total turnout in 2020 was 54 per cent, down from about 61 per cent in 2017.
Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, said many factors are at play in the advance voter turnout.
“If you have an early option, if you have an option where there are fewer crowds, fewer lineups that you have to deal with, then that’s going to be a much more desirable option,” said Prest.
“So, having the possibility of voting across multiple advanced voting days is something that more people are looking to as a way to avoid last-minute lineups or heavy weather.”
Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada said the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
Eby said the forecast of an atmospheric weather storm on election day will become a “ballot question” for some voters who are concerned about the approaches the parties have towards addressing climate change.
But he said he is confident people will not let the storm deter them from voting.
“I know British Columbians are tough and they’re not going to let even an atmospheric river stop them from voting,” said Eby.
In northern B.C., heavy snow is in the forecast starting Friday and through to Saturday for areas along the Yukon boundary.
Elections BC said it will focus on ensuring it is prepared for bad weather, said Andrew Watson, senior director of communications.
“We’ve also been working with BC Hydro to make sure that they’re aware of all of our voting place locations so that they can respond quickly if there are any power outages,” he said.
Elections BC also has paper backups for all of its systems in case there is a power outage, forcing them to go through manual procedures, Watson said.
Prest said the dramatic downfall of the Official Opposition BC United Party just before the start of the campaign and voter frustration could also be contributing to the record size of the advance vote.
It’s too early to say if the province is experiencing a “renewed enthusiasm for voting,” he said.
“As a political scientist, I think it would be a good thing to see, but I’m not ready to conclude that’s what we are seeing just yet,” he said, adding, “this is one of the storylines to watch come Saturday.”
Overall turnout in B.C. elections has generally been dwindling compared with the 71.5 per cent turnout for the 1996 vote.
Adam Olsen, Green Party campaign chair, said the advance voting turnout indicates people are much more engaged in the campaign than they were in the weeks leading up to the start of the campaign in September.
“All we know so far is that people are excited to go out and vote early,” he said. “The real question will be does that voter turnout stay up throughout election night?”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said more than 180,000 voters cast their votes on Wednesday.
