Ottawa: Canada has announced that it is issue proof of vaccination or vaccine passports that would allow citizens to travel abroad and will be available in the next few months.
The passport “very likely will be digital, it will involve a code, it will be standardized so that when Canadians are travelling abroad there will be a hallmark that readily identifies travellers are from Canada, said Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
A release from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the government “recognises” that proof of vaccination credentials will support the “re-opening of societies and economies” and that Canadians were looking for a “more reliable and secure way to demonstrate their Covid-19 vaccination history to foreign and Canadian border officials”.
In that context, it noted that Ottawa is “collaborating with the provinces and territories to develop a proof of vaccination that will facilitate cross-border travel, while reducing the risk of spread and importation of Covid-19.”
It also said the attempt was to take “a secure pan-Canadian approach” based on advice from the country’s public health officials.
With the country gradually and cautiously reopening, Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Marco Mendicino said “many Canadians are contemplating doing something they haven’t done in over a year and a half: travelling. Our work with the provinces and territories to provide a consistent proof of vaccination is a key step forward in ensuring Canadians will have the documents they need once it is safe to travel again”.
While the focus is on a digital proof of vaccination, the passports will also accessible to those unable to avail of them in that form. The passports, the release said, will provide foreign border officials with the traveller’s vaccination history while also providing a “trusted and verifiable credential for when they return home”.
