QUEEN’S PARK — Premier Doug Ford revealed a new vaccine verification app on Friday making it easier for Ontarians to access businesses across the province, again deferring plans to address capacity limits for restaurants and fitness centres.
“The enhanced vaccine certificates and Verify Ontario app will give our businesses further comfort in their ability to operate safely as we take further steps to protect people’s privacy,” Ford said during a morning press conference.
Ontarians will be able to download an “enhanced vaccine certificate” as of Friday, with a staggered release based on birth month, starting with January to April on Friday, May to August on Saturday and those born September to December on Sunday. On Monday it will be open to all.
Verify Ontario will be used by businesses to certify guests have been fully vaccinated.
“The Verify Ontario app will support Ontario businesses, protect our hard-fought progress by making it quicker and easier to confirm if a person is fully vaccinated, while protecting their privacy,” Associate Digital Government Minister Kaleed Rasheed said.
“I encourage all Ontarians to get an official enhanced vaccine certificate with an official QR code, and businesses to download and use our Verify Ontario app,” he said.
Province-wide vaccination rates for those age 12 and older are currently at 83 per cent, according to the government.
Despite Ford’s insistence he was supporting small businesses, criticism has been growing over a lack of published plans for restaurants and gyms.
Ford said Friday a comprehensive plan for those industries will be released next week. The premier explained he was being cautious and wanted to avoid scuttling the limits too early.
When Ford didn’t lift restrictions on restaurants and bars while lifting limits on sports arenas and concert halls last week, critics were quick to point out what they viewed a double standard.
The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed nearly 20,000 fully vaccinated fans into the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens in the 2021-2022 season opener.
Masks were still enforced for fans, with the exception of removing them when eating or drinking.
Meanwhile, restaurants, bars and fitness centres remained at 50 per cent capacity, including the Humber Room, a restaurant run by culinary students at North campus.
Associate Dean of Business Rudi Fischbacher told Et Cetera on Friday the restaurant industry has been “battered badly.”
Fischbacher said he’s looking forward to the capacity restrictions being lifted at some point soon, saying it would mark a “good step forward” towards recovery.
It would also allow the Humber Room to serve more guests, with seating currently limited to 20.
Non-profit advocacy organization Restaurants Canada earlier blasted the provincial government.
“It is beyond comprehension that 20,000 people can cram into an arena, scream, and closely congregate without masks, while restaurants must adhere to strict distancing regulations which severely restrict the number of customers that can be served,” the organization said in a statement.
Michael Garcia-Ortiz, an HVAC student at Humber, said he sympathized with the criticisms from restaurant and gym owners ahead of Friday’s announcement.
“I know how people in the restaurant and gym industry are feeling right now. They must feel hurt, confused, and worried about the future of their business and the financial toll the pandemic has taken on them,” Garcia-Ortiz said.
While the trades student acknowledged the disappointment of many in the restaurant industry — including some of his own friends — he was optimistic about the Ford government’s planning and the sacrifices that would need to be made to reopen the province safely.
“They are taking a cautious approach that we may not like but will have to respect,” Garcia-Ortiz said.
With files from Nick Seles.