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BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada (LifeSiteNews) – On Monday August 23, British Columbian Premier John Hogan, along with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, told the press that starting September 13 – granting zero exemptions – the province will require digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into businesses and other public spaces.

According to the announcement which aired on CBC’s The National, the initial launch of the “vaccine card” system – a digital vaccine passport that operates through each person’s smartphone – will require every resident to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine if they desire to enter certain publicly accessed spaces. Starting October 24, the province will then mandate that each person be “fully vaccinated” before access is granted.

As reported by the CBC, British Columbians will be required to show their digital “vaccine cards” if they want to access:

  • indoor ticketed sporting events
  • indoor concerts
  • indoor theatre/dance/symphony events
  • restaurants (indoor and patio dining)
  • night clubs
  • casinos
  • movie theatres
  • fitness centres/gyms (excluding youth recreational sport)
  • businesses offering indoor high-intensity group exercise activities
  • organized indoor events (e.g., weddings, parties, conferences, meetings, workshops)
  • discretionary organized indoor group recreational classes and activities
  • student housing on college and university campuses

The CBC’s video segment states that, “There will be no exemptions – except for children under 12.”

Meghan McDermott, a lawyer with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, told the CBC that it is “most surprising” that there will be no “accommodations for people who have medical reasons for not being vaccinated.”

McDermott’s surprise ostensibly comes directly from Section 8 of the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, which states:

(1) A person must not, without a bona fide and reasonable justification,

(a) deny to a person or class of persons any accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public, or

(b) discriminate against a person or class of persons regarding any accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public because of the race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age of that person or class of persons.

According to the CBC, the vaccine passports will be available as a secure download on a person’s smartphone, which will then have to be presented to businesses along with a photo ID before entry is granted. As for people who do not have smartphones, the province is currently working on a plan that maintains security and prevents forgery to accommodate such individuals.

The digital “vaccine cards” will not be required to enter grocery stores, retails spaces, or places of worship, as these locations have not been found to have “high transmission rates,” according to the province.

Contrary to the apprehension of legal experts such as McDermott, certain people are delighted with the arrival of the vaccine caste system.

The vaccine passport “strategy is an important temporary measure that the Surrey Board of Trade has been calling for, to the B.C. Government, as well as to the federal government,” said Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman.

“The goal in the future is to have a coordinated, national approach to show proof of vaccination,” she continued.

“I honestly believe that the passport is the way forward because it’s unfair and disrespectful for people that are not vaccinated — that have no intention of being vaccinated — to hold the rest of the community at ransom,” Nelson, BC Mayor John Dooley told the CBC.

This directive, which does not allow for medical or religious exemptions, comes down only one week after a jailed BC mother had her charges dropped for not wearing a mask in a store, citing such exemptions.

LifeSiteNews has produced an extensive COVID-19 vaccines resources page. View it here.