Vast majority of Canadians like the idea of a vaccination passport for international travel and it looks like your government will come up with a solution.
Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu said her government supported the idea of a “vaccine passport” and would introduce a vaccine certification form to allow vaccinated Canadians to travel abroad.
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Nearly eight in ten Canadians (78%) agree (including 56% who strongly agree) that all travelers entering Canada must have a vaccination passport, according to a new Ipsos poll. In comparison, a smaller majority of Americans (71%) agree that travelers should be required to present a vaccination passport before entering the United States.
About three in four Canadians (72%) agree that vaccine passports would be effective in securing travel and major events, which is the global average of 73%, and significantly more than in the United States, where 61% are Okay.
“Canadians need to be able to have the right type of certification for international travel because as we know Canadians will want to travel internationally and they will want to make sure they have the correct credentials to do it from a vaccination perspective, ”Hajdu said in a recent interview with CBC Radio.
His words were in line with those of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who, at a press conference last week, said vaccination certifications were part of international travel before Covid-19 and are “naturally to be expected when ‘this is this pandemic. ”.
As more people around the world get vaccinated and the summer travel season approaches, countries scramble to implement digital health certification programs. French President Emmanuel Macron recently told CBS “Face the Nation” that Americans who are vaccinated or who could test negative for Covid-19 can travel to France as early as this summer, thanks to the European Union’s plan to a green certificate.
Like the United States, Canada is in talks with other countries to find consensus on universally acceptable solutions. “I meet with my G7 counterparts on a regular basis and this is an ongoing conversation about what that might look like and how we might have some sort of standardized approach to it,” Hajdu told CBC.
Hajdu said Canada will likely be able to speed up its own vaccine passport program by adapting an existing application. “From our point of view, we have a small advantage in terms of entry into Canada, as we have ArriveCAN, the app that allows, for example, digital proof of evidence and the examination of a variety of other documents that people must present to enter. , “Hajdu said.” We will work with our international partners to make sure that whatever the world decides, Canadians have the documents in the right format.
The free ArriveCAN app was launched in April 2020 to help travelers comply with border measures. As of the end of November 2020, air travelers to Canada must submit their information electronically through ArriveCAN before boarding their flight. This includes travel and contact information, a quarantine plan, and a Covid-19 symptom self-assessment. Travelers should be prepared to show their ArriveCAN receipt upon entering Canada.
So far, the Biden administration has resisted the idea of a “vaccine passport” for the United States, perhaps a wise strategy given that the term is a trigger for many Americans on the other. side of the political aisle.
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Yet, like it or not, government-sponsored vaccine certificates are popping up all over the world, from Japan to Israel and the UK to the European Union. It seems inevitable that American and Mexican travelers will have to adapt if they want to travel outside of their country. Even to visit the neighbor to the north (Canada).
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