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Guelph is among the 29 cities part of Ontario Big Major Cities urging the province to create a COVID-19 proof of vaccination system.
Mayor Cam Guthrie said businesses and 400 municipalities across the province are left trying to figure out the best way to implement a proof of vaccination system to help places safely reopen with no direction from the government.
“Right now it's very fractured and it's patchwork when it comes to this vaccination and proof of vaccination or proof of immunization,” said Guthrie.
“Instead of it being a patchwork of all these different organizations trying to figure it out, it is best left to the proper order of government to create that system and that is the provincial government.”
On Friday, OBCM passed a motion requesting the provincial government establish a system of certified proof of vaccination and testing protocols to keep vaccinated people safe in businesses, schools, public institutions and to keep them free from further shutdowns in the wake of new waves of the virus.
Guthrie said a provincial standardized system would create a unified approach to issues people are dealing with across the province.
He also said he believes the terms "proof of immunization" and "vaccine record" are interchangeable and one should not get caught up on what the word means when the term "vaccine passport" is used.
“Everyone understands the point of it,” said Guthrie.
He said a standardized proof of vaccination system would help municipalities, the business sector, institutional sector and also focus on the health and safety of communities.
Gurthie said Guelph, among other municipalities across the province, is also looking at ways they would implement a vaccine as an employer.
“I'm not saying we're looking to do it but we are looking at it because we need to know what our obligations are,” said Guthrie.
He said the very reason municipalities are investigating, researching and questioning mandating the vaccine as an employer is because of the lack of a standardized policy from the province.
“Health care is a provincial matter, it's not the municipal oversight, it is the provincial oversight,” said Guthrie.
On Wednesday, Canada’s Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino said fully vaccinated Canadians will be able to get a proof of vaccination document to travel to other countries as early as this fall.
Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces in Canada that have implemented a vaccine passport. On Wednesday, Canada’s Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino said fully vaccinated Canadians will be able to get a proof of vaccination document to travel to other countries as early as this fall.
“The faster we can enact a proof of vaccination system, the faster we can protect more Ontarians from the effects of the Delta variant,” said Jeff Lehman, chair of OBCM and Mayor of Barrie. “This will support the safe reopening of our economy and protect our residents”.