Ontario announces vax certificates to end March 1

Ontario is ending its vaccine certificate system on March 1, when capacity limits in public settings and restrictions on social gathering sizes will fully lift as well, though masking requirements will remain for now.

Premier Doug Ford insisted the steps are not a result of pressure from anti−vaccine mandate protesters.

“Today’s announcement is not because of what’s happening in Ottawa or Windsor, but despite it,” he said Monday.

“The extraordinary measures that we introduced during this pandemic were always intended as a last resort. I stood at this very podium and promised you that these tools would only be used for as long as they were absolutely necessary and not one day longer. The removal of these measures has always been our objective.”

Public health indicators have been improving, with the positivity rate of COVID−19 tests dropping from a peak of nearly 40 per cent to 13 per cent, and hospitalizations down under 1,400 from a high of more than 4,000, Ford said.

Due to those metrics, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore presented a plan to lift the COVID−19 restrictions and vaccine certificates, Ford said, noting that the plan had been in the works since before protesters began occupying downtown Ottawa more than two weeks ago.

Ford said he understands frustration with the restrictions, though he credited them for saving tens of thousands of lives, and lamented the divisions they have caused.

“All of it has polarized us in a way that we could have never imagined. I’ve experienced this in my own family. It’s been one of the hardest things my family and I have ever gone through,” said Ford, whose daughter is a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates.

“But for all of this, I can still take comfort in knowing that there remains so much that unites us.”

Ontario is now fast−tracking previously announced steps to lift restrictions, including moving the next step of its reopening plan up to Thursday instead of next Monday.

On that day, social gathering limits will increase to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, while capacity limits will be removed in places such as restaurants, bars, gyms and movie theatres. Capacity at businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and retail stores will be set at the number of people who can maintain a distance of two metres.

Less than two weeks later, on March 1, capacity limits will be lifted in all remaining indoor public settings and proof−of−vaccination requirements will end for all settings.

Public health units can still use tools to respond to their local COVID−19 situation, and businesses and other settings can still require proof of vaccination if they choose, the province said.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Monday’s announcement feels like a true step toward small businesses’ economic recovery, but sought clarity for those that choose to maintain proof of vaccination.

“Just telling them that they’re free to keep it − does that mean that they’re free to keep it without risks of a human rights case or lawsuit?” said CFIB president Dan Kelly.

“I suspect not. And so I do believe that businesses will be taking on potentially some legal risk if they maintain a proof−of−vaccination system in their business.”

In order to spur businesses’ recovery, Kelly said governments need to boost consumer confidence to take part in the reopening. 

“We’ve told Canadians for two straight years that it’s dangerous to leave your home, stay home as much as possible or or leave only with really, really heavy restrictions around it,” he said. 

“There are going to be many, many Canadians that are going to remain fairly hunkered down, because this is a pretty big shift in messaging. And so it’s going to take, I think, some work on the part of governments and public health officials to provide those messages of reassurance.” 

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the vaccine certificates should stay in place, because they can still protect seniors who are at higher risk of severe illness and children still too young to be vaccinated.

“I think everybody wants to have restaurants opened and gyms and pretty much everywhere, but the thing that allows us to do that and keep us all safe is the certificate program,” she said. “Really the only people who see the certificates as a restriction or a problem are the anti−vaxxers.”

A vaccine mandate for staff in long−term care homes will remain, Ford said.

The province also announced that youth aged 12 to 17 can book booster doses of a COVID−19 vaccine as of 8 a.m. on Friday.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has only recommended booster doses for high−risk teenagers, such as those who are immunocompromised. A spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott said Ontario’s decision to expand eligibility to anyone 12 to 17 who had their second shot six months ago is based on the advice of the chief medical officer of health and the Ontario Immunization Advisory Committee. 

Measures being lifted on Feb. 17:

  • Increasing social gathering limits to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors
  • Increasing organized public event limits to 50 people indoors, with no limit outdoors
  • Removing capacity limits in the following indoor public settings where proof of vaccination is required, including but not limited to: Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments without dance facilities; Non-spectator areas of sports and recreational fitness facilities, including gyms; Cinemas; Meeting and event spaces, including conference centres or convention centres; Casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments; Indoor areas of settings that choose to opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements
  • Allowing 50 per cent of the usual seating capacity at sports arenas
  • Allowing 50 percent of the usual seating capacity for concert venues and theatres
  • Increasing indoor capacity limits to 25 per cent in the remaining higher-risk settings where
    proof of vaccination is required, including nightclubs, restaurants where there is dancing, as
    well as bathhouses and sex clubs
  • Increasing capacity limits for indoor weddings, funerals or religious services, rites, or
    ceremonies to the number of people who can maintain two metres physical distance.
    Capacity limits are removed if the location opts-in to use proof of vaccination or if the
    service, rite, or ceremony is occurring outdoors

Measures lifting on March 1

  • Lifting capacity limits in all remaining indoor
    public settings
  • Lifting proof of vaccination requirements for all settings at this time. Businesses and other settings may choose to continue to require proof of vaccination

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

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