Businesses, enforcement brace for vaccine certificates

TORONTO — Pub manager Crystal Meikle is used to pivoting with the shifting rules for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Ontario’s proof-of-vaccination policy, set to take effect on Wednesday, treads into new territory, she said, since workers will be tasked with asking customers to show they are immunized against the virus.

“The pushback is where I get a little nervous,” Meikle said on a recent afternoon shift at the Queen’s Head pub in east Toronto. “It’s the unknown of how somebody is going to react.”

Last week the province outlined its guidelines for businesses required to make the checks. Patrons at dine-in restaurants, nightclubs, gyms, sports facilities and other venues must present a receipt of full vaccination and identification. Doctors’ notes for medical exemptions will also be accepted. Fines are on the table for businesses that don’t comply with the checks and for patrons who give false information. But businesses, bylaw officers, police forces and the province say enforcement will be gentle until the policy’s impact starts to play out on the ground — with much of the heavy lifting falling to businesses’ front-line staff.

Several Ontario police forces contacted by The Canadian Press indicated they would respond to safety-related calls regarding threats or violence but would not actively enforce or check for compliance with the vaccination policy. A spokesperson for Ontario’s Solicitor General said the province doesn’t expect police to conduct “routine compliance checks” of the receipts.

Joe Couto, communications director with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said police forces would wait for calls to come in related to the policy before deciding whether to redeploy or adjust resources.

“The question I’ve been asked is, are police going to be needing new resources or shifting resources to deal with the rollout of certification,” he said. “The short answer to that is, we really don’t know, because the province is still developing not only its policies, but how it will actually practically work.”