Ontario's enhanced vaccine certificate system not accessible to marginalized people, advocates say
CBC
Advocates say Ontario's enhanced COVID-19 vaccine certificate system is not accessible for marginalized groups.
The new system, announced on Friday, assumes people have smartphones, computers, printers, internet access, a data plan and the ability to navigate the provincial website, the advocates told CBC News on Saturday.
According to representatives of three organizations, the Ontario government failed to consider the needs of people with disabilities, including those who are cognitively impaired, have mobility issues or are legally blind, as well as seniors on a fixed income, low-income people and unhoused people.
David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, said the government didn't properly test its enhanced system to ensure it met accessibility requirements. Lepofsky, who is completely blind, is a visiting professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School. The alliance is a disability consumer advocacy group.
"Yet again, unfortunately, the Ford government has shown that accessibility for people with disabilities, during COVID and more generally, is just not a priority for them," Lepofsky said on Saturday.
Lepofsky said he found the announcement, website and news release all to be confusing because he thought there would an app for individuals that people could load onto their phones that would show their COVID-19 vaccine certificates. However, the app, Verify Ontario, turns out to be for businesses.
The app for businesses also doesn't accommodate the need for medical exemptions, he added.
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