Vaccine passports are a contentious and uncertain prospect. Concerns about civil liberties, capabilities, implementation, and mandatory application abound. But that shouldn’t dissuade us from enacting a decentralized system that could bring some real and tangible benefits for Canadians as we are exiting the pandemic, argue Miguel Ouellette and Maria Lily Shaw of the Montreal Economic Institute.
Increased access to businesses, events, and large gatherings, as well as the opportunity to travel represent real upside for vaccinated individuals. One example of an effective implementation of this concept comes from Israel, the world leaders in vaccinations. Their “Green Pass” serves as a real-world case study of this system in practice.
Proof of COVID vaccination prior to entry is required by many countries throughout the world, and indeed, was a common practice even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In our own country, implementing a non-mandatory vaccine passport program in Canada would allow for freedom of movement for Canadians without onerous restrictions and would help to kickstart the recovery of our economy, Ouellette and Shaw argue.
“A non-mandatory vaccine passport constitutes the most reasonable and sensible option for other sectors in order to accelerate the reopening of our economy. This would allow businesses and private establishments to require proof of vaccination in order to access their services.”
