Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Wednesday that the province has “no plans” to end the vaccine passport system or mask mandates, as other conservative Canadian provinces scrap Wuhan coronavirus restrictions.
The Ontario Health Minister gave her remarks at a press conference Wednesday saying that the government was sticking to its re-opening plan, but said the idea of scrapping the vaccine passport system was not under consideration.
“We have no plans to currently drop the vaccine passport or masking,” Elliot said, and added that the mask mandate will be in place “for some time to come,” refusing to give a timeline for the end of either policy.
Elliott did, however, announce that rapid antigen tests would be available to Ontarians at grocery stores and pharmacies but would be limited to one box of tests per household. The government has also lifted a halt on non-urgent surgeries implemented this year.
The announcement comes as other conservative-led provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan have announced in recent days their intentions to scrap vaccine passport systems and other restrictions.
Alberta, which is governed by the United Conservative Party (UCP), ended its vaccine passport programme this week, but Premier Jason Kenney noted that the QR code system would still be maintained if businesses chose to implement the vaccine passport themselves.
“Now is the time to begin learning to live with [Chinese coronavirus],” Kenney stated. “These restrictions have led to terrible division.”
The change in policy for Kenney came after protests by truckers against the vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, and coronavirus restrictions took hold in Ottawa and a separate blockade protest began along the Alberta border with the U.S. state of Montana at the town of Coutts.
The Kenney government denied having negotiated with the protesters at the Coutts blockade last week after claims rural members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) had worked out a deal with the truckers.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, leader of the centre-right Saskatchewan Party, has also decided to scrap coronavirus restrictions and vaccine passports, lifting nearly all restrictions on Tuesday except for indoor masking, set to end at the end of the month.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, head of the Progressive Conservative party, has made no announcement that he or his government intend to ever scrap the vaccine passport programme and Ford has hit out at the Freedom Convoy trucker protestors in Ottawa, Ontario, calling them an “occupation.”
“What is happening in Ottawa, in my opinion, is unacceptable,” Ford said and added, “Regarding Ottawa, the occupations, it’s not a protest anymore, it’s become an occupation.”
Parts of Ontario, such as the city of Toronto, have had some of the longest coronavirus restrictions in the entire world. A report from May of last year noted that restaurants in Ontario’s largest city had been closed to diners for over 360 days since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Ontario’s vaccine passport system, a system Premier Ford claimed to be against in July of last year, is also one of the most restrictive in the world; some other systems, such as the one in place in Italy, allow those recovered from the virus, or sometimes those who can produce a negative coronavirus test, to qualify for their health passport.
Ontario only allows those considered fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine, or those who have a valid medical exemption, to be eligible for the passport.