British Columbians will soon need two proof-of-vaccination cards, one to access events or restaurants and another to travel within Canada or internationally.
It comes after the province signed on to an agreement with the federal government to implement the national vaccine passport allowing for travel.
“The federal government’s test is much higher for international travel and we said so at the time that we implemented our immunization card that at the point where the borders are open, particularly of course to the south of us, and those who want to travel internationally are going to require some other form of identification distributed and approved the federal government,” Premier John Horgan said Thursday.
As of Oct. 30, Canadians will be have to show proof of immunization or a negative PCR test result to travel on a plane or train. Starting on Nov. 30 however, Canadians will need to show a federal vaccine passport to travel in and out of the country.
The B.C. vaccine card shows whether you have been vaccinated twice or not. The federal vaccine card meanwhile will show your name, date of birth, and COVID-19 vaccine history – including which doses you received and when you received them.
“We are hopefully going to clarify issues in the days ahead,” Horgan added. “I know the B.C. card will be acceptable for a period of time. It does create confusion for people anxious to travel.”
“You’re now going to need two at the moment and we’ll see how we’ll go in the months ahead and we’ll see how we can bring those two together.”
Horgan also suggested that if British Columbians only intend to stay in the province and go to a sporting event or a restaurant for example, the B.C. card that they have right now will suffice.
“The 3.7 million of you who have already downloaded a B.C. immunization card can continue to go to a play, can continue to go to a concert, go out for dinner with some friends,” he added. “If you want to travel internationally or on federally regulated modes of transportation, you’re going to require a federal card.”
The opposition B.C. Liberals though say the government should have been working on that national proof of vaccine card before it was officially announced by the Prime Minister on Thursday morning.
“It was shocking to hear the premier suggest this was all new and that he somehow needed time to review,” said Opposition Transportation Critic Jordan Sturdy.
“The Government of Canada had the status of every jurisdiction up immediately and British Columbia was missing. Ontario, Quebec, the Yukon and others all managed to work with the feds to ensure their residents would be able to fly but not British Columbia. John Horgan blew it.”
Sturdy, in a statement, said that pointing fingers at Ottawa is not going to get the issue fixed for British Columbians who are looking to travel.
“If Premiers Doug Ford, Francois Legault, Scott Moe and others can deliver for their provinces, John Horgan should as well,” he added. “The premier should not be abdicating his responsibility on this important issue.”
“He needs to tell British Columbians they will have access to the required federal authorization to fly without any delay.”
In a statement, B.C.’s Health Ministry says the province will issue the government of Canada proof-of-vaccination card by Oct. 30.
That contradicted what Horgan said earlier today that residents could apply to the federal government for the card. The federal government’s website directs B.C. residents to get a provincial proof of vaccination, with the understanding that it may not guarantee entry into other countries.
“I felt the federal government would manage international travel in their way and we would manage our domestic interactions until such time there was clarity about what was required,” Horgan said.
As for the latest COVID-19 figures, there were 715 new cases of COVID-19 reported by the government for a total of 4,965 active cases. Of that, 137 cases were in Interior Health which currently has 808 active cases.
– With files from The Canadian Press
