Business and restaurant owners left confused, frustrated with rollout of vaccine passport
CBC
The provincial government's vaccine passport rollout is a source of confusion and frustration, restaurant and business owners said.
In an announcement on Sept. 1, Premier Doug Ford, joined by Health Minister Christine Elliott, chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore, and Associate Minister of Digital Government Kaleed Rasheed unveiled the province's vaccine passport plan. The vaccine passports will take effect on Sept. 22, while a digital verification app follows a month later on Oct. 22.
On Tuesday, Elliott, Moore, and Rasheed held another press conference to announce some details of the vaccine passport system including where it needs to be used, what exemptions exist, and what format it will take.
It's left weary restaurant and business owners confused and frustrated due to what they say is a lack of clear communication and simplicity.
"It puts a lot of onus on the businesses," said Firkin Group of Pubs president Larry Isaacs. "We were hoping for something more simplistic."
Isaacs raises several issues he has with the passport rollout. He doesn't understand why the app is being launched "after the fact," he's frustrated that young servers and hosts who are employed at his and other restaurants have to "identify and determine if [the vaccine passports] are fraudulent or real."
And it creates friction between customers and the businesses, he added.
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