Some places to keep checking for COVID-19 vaccine proof in Ontario

"We felt like at the moment, it seemed a bit premature to simply abolish the vaccine requirements and just throw everything open," said Campbell-Luxton. 

Some establishments in Ontario will maintain proof-of-vaccine requirements even after the province ends its vaccine certificate system on Tuesday, saying they want to ensure that people feel safe and comfortable coming through their doors.

Jan Campbell-Luxton, owner of De La Terre Bakery + Café in St. Catharines, Ont., said he and front-of-house staff came to a joint decision to keep checking for proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

Maintaining the policy feels like “a fairly small price” to pay to ensure both staff and customers feel safe, he said.

“We felt like at the moment, it seemed a bit premature to simply abolish the vaccine requirements and just throw everything open,” said Campbell-Luxton.

“We’re certainly not interested in kicking people out, so just as it is today, after March 1, if you’re unvaccinated and want to get something to go, you just have to wear a mask and we also do curbside pickup.”

Campbell-Luxton noted the business will also keep a capacity limit of 50 per cent for the time being, despite the province lifting capacity limits in all remaining indoor public settings as of Tuesday as well.

The café will be evaluating public health advice and indicators every two weeks before deciding to scrap any public health measures, he said.

“It’s been a long, hard two years and it feels really important that anybody who comes and sits down in our place of business will feel comfortable and safe knowing that we’ve done everything we can to make sure that the people around them are adhering to public health policies and are as unlikely as possible to be ending up in hospital,” Campbell-Luxton said.