A standardized COVID-19 vaccine passport that can be used in all provinces and territories as well as international travel is scheduled to roll out in New Brunswick in mid-November, Premier Blaine Higgs announced on Thursday.
In early September, Higgs announced he was exploring the idea of requiring proof of vaccination in order to encourage more people to be vaccinated.
On Sept. 15, he made it an official policy in the province. Proof of vaccination became required in restaurants, as well as at:
- indoor festivals, performing arts and sporting events;
- indoor and outdoor dining and drinking at restaurants, pubs and bars;
- movie theatres, nightclubs, amusement centres, pool halls, bowling alleys and casinos;
- gyms, indoor pools and indoor recreation facilities;
- indoor group exercise facilities;
- indoor organized gatherings including weddings, funerals, parties (excluding parties in a private dwelling), conferences and workshops;
- indoor organized group recreational sports, classes and activities; and
- visiting a long-term care facility.
However, the province did not have a standardized system for locations who were required to ask for it, like the system rolled out in Ontario. It told residents a physical or photocopy of the vaccination record and photo ID would suffice as proof.
That will change next month, Higgs said.
“The standardized proof of vaccination will facilitate international travel, and can be used in each jurisdiction across Canada. The downloadable proof can be downloaded on any device and can also be printed. New Brunswick has met all of its milestones in this development work,” he said.
“We are on track to deliver our QR code proof of vaccination credentials by mid-November.”
It will be a QR code-based system. The code gets scanned by the phone of another device and the document will appear.
The federal government made the same announcement on Thursday.
The vaccine passport will show your name, date of birth, and COVID-19 vaccine history — including which doses you got, and when you got them.
“I’m happy to confirm that all provinces and territories have confirmed that they will be moving forward with a standardized national proof of vaccination,” Trudeau said, speaking to reporters.
Trudeau added that Saskatchewan, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and all three territories have already put this national standard into use. It’s because those system already involved the QR-code technology.
— with files from Rachel Gilmore
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