Becky Robertson

September 120, 2021

-Blog TO

 

While the Government of Ontario is poised to introduce a vaccine passport program later this month, some individuals and businesses are already vowing not to participate.

Much like how some businesses have been implementing their own policies about proof of vaccination for staff and patrons for weeks now, others are making it known that they will not be requiring such information from their customers.

Some have been doing so through social media posts, while others have joined the website nopasslist.ca, which was launched earlier this week by residents of Ontario for any business in Canada to say they “support freedom of choice” when it comes to the COVID-19 shot.

More than 1,000 companies across Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Alberta have already signed up, the homepage reads, though the first three of those provinces are indeed rolling out mandatory vaccine certificate systems.

It is unclear how the concept of a nopasslist will work for sectors that provinces have listed as required to check proof of vaccination, which in Ontario include bars, restaurants, casinos, movie theatres, sports games, concerts, gyms and more.

A representative from the site did clarify to the Sun on Thursday that no pass means “non-passive about the situation at hand,” not necessarily no vaccine passports.

“We can’t speak on behalf of all the businesses on the site and say whether they’re going to implement the vaccine passports or not. The only thing we can say is that they are in support of freedom of choice in Canada and they don’t believe in segregation or discrimination based on your medical status,” they said, reiterating what the site’s about us section states.

So far, there appear to be 86 listings in Toronto, which range from yoga studios to catering companies, auto repair shops to medi spas.

If the search is expanded to all of Ontario, there are 1,101 listings, though the vast majority appear to be settings that the government’s vaccine passport system will not apply to, such as retail stores, contracting companies, photo studios and various services.

As the website says, its goal is to “provide a platform that enables independent and corporate expressions without bias” when it comes to immunization.

Anti-vaxxers have made their feelings on the subject well known through various protests in recent days, so it’s certain that the site will have at least a few dedicated users.

Meanwhile, vaccination numbers in the province are indeeed rising as a result of the passport announcement, though not yet enough as health officials had hoped.

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