TORONTO, Ontario, December 9, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Ontario’s Health Minister suggested on Tuesday that Canada’s most populous province is looking at creating an “immunity passport” as proof for having taken the COVID-19 vaccine. Without such a passport, one’s ability to move freely could be limited.
“That’s going to be really important for people to have [proof of COVID vaccination] for travel purposes, perhaps for work purposes, for going to theatres or cinemas or any other places where people will be in closer physical contact when we get through the worst of the pandemic,” said Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott to reporters on Tuesday.
While trying to stress that the vaccination is voluntary, the Elliott made clear that not taking the vaccine could lead to severe limitations to individuals’ freedom.
“So yes, that will be essential for people to have that … That’s their choice, this is not going to be a mandatory campaign. It will be voluntary. There may be some restrictions that may be placed on people that don’t have vaccines for travel purposes, to be able to go to theatres and other places.”
Despite Elliott saying a COVID-19 vaccine would not be mandatory, when asked by a reporter if the Ontario government would be providing proof of vaccination via some sort of vaccine card, she answered affirmatively.
“Yes, because that’s going to be really important for people to have for travel purposes, perhaps for work purposes, for going to theatres or cinemas or any other places where people will be in closer physical contact,” said Elliott.
Questions remain if a vaccine “immunity passport” would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in particular Section 2, which involves one’s conscience rights, Section 6 regarding mobility rights, and Section 7, which protects one’s “right to life, liberty and security of the person.”
Ted Kuntz, president of Vaccine Choice Canada (VCC), a not-for-profit society founded by families who have suffered from vaccine reactions or injuries, told LifeSiteNews that any type of vaccine “immunity passport” is indeed a violation of one’s charter rights.
“These are egregious violations of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as violations of international agreements including the Nuremberg Code and the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights. These violations should not be tolerated,” Kuntz told LifeSiteNews via email.
“Any coercive measures as restrictions on travel, access to businesses or services would be a clear violation of the Nuremberg Code developed in response to the violations of the Nazi regime in Germany.”
Previously, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams said that proof of COVID-19 vaccination might be made mandatory for people to move around freely, however, he said that such a vaccine would not be mandatory.
On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will not make a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory in Ontario, but will urge people to take it.
In Canada, vaccines are not mandatory at the federal level, as each province is responsible for their healthcare delivery. At the provincial level, places like Ontario and New Brunswick have made certain vaccines mandatory via legislation, with a few exceptions, for children to attend public schools.
In British Columbia, parents now must provide their child’s immunization records for their kids to be enrolled in public and private schools.
A recent poll found that only 59 percent of Canadians still support the idea of making a coronavirus vaccine mandatory, as opposed to 72 percent when polled in May.
The vast majority, 71 percent, said taking a vaccine that was approved so fast makes them nervous, with 69 percent saying they have concerns for potential harmful long-term effects of the vaccine.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said in the past that he needed time to “reflect” on the possibility of making a coronavirus vaccine mandatory in Canada.
In his email to LifeSiteNews, Kuntz noted it is “impossible to avoid exposure to viruses and bacteria” as the “human being is in a co-creative symbiotic relationship with viruses and bacteria at all times.”
“The COVID vaccines under development will not prevent infection or transmission. Therefore, being vaccinated for COVID would not alter the safety of public spaces,” Kuntz wrote in his email to LifeSiteNews. “Vaccination is an invasive medical procedure. We hold the principle that where there is risk, there must be choice.”
Canada has agreements with AstraZeneca, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, Novovax, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer/BioNTech, Medicago and Moderna to quickly deliver up to “358 million doses” of various COVID-19 vaccines. The population of Canada is under 40 million.
Today, Health Canada approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada, becoming the third country in the world to do so after the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
However, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is a multitude of possible side-effects associated with COVID-19 vaccines, which include strokes, birth defects, auto-immune disease, and Kawasaki disease.
It is anticipated the U.S will approve the Pfizer/BioNTech product later this week.
The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at an extremely low temperature of -70 degrees Celsius, and there are other concerns about its safety, especially when it comes to women and unknown effects on fertility.
Kuntz also raised his concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“Vaccines are not benign medical products,” Kuntz explained. “Vaccination is an invasive medical procedure that delivers complex biochemical drugs by injection. The normal timeline for the development of a vaccine product is 5–10 years. It is impossible to know the efficacy and safety profile of a new vaccine using never before utilized technology in 10 months.”
Some of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates are being developed using cell lines developed from tissue from aborted babies.
Moderna and AstraZeneca use the HEK-293 cell line, which was derived from kidney tissue taken from a healthy baby aborted in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Johnson & Johnson is using the PER.C6 cell line, which was developed from retinal tissue from a baby aborted in the 1980s.
GlaxoSmithKline, Novovax, Sanofi, Pfizer, and Medicago apparently are not using such cell lines in the development of their vaccines, although they could be using them for their trials.
VCC has a petition that people can sign to ask the government to make COVID-19 vaccines voluntary.
Campaign Life Coalition has a petition which urges the Canadian Federal government to say “No to a vaccine from aborted babies.”
For respectful communications please contact below:
Note that phone and mail contact is best. We ask our readers to share this report with friends and families and to urge your loved ones to contact the Ontario Premier, Health Minister, and your MPP.
Premier of Ontario – Doug Ford
Phone: 416-325-1941
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Email: [email protected]
You can also contact Doug Ford electronically here.
Ministry of Health — Christine Elliott
Phone: 416-327-4300
5th Floor
777 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3
Fax: 416-326-1571
Email: [email protected]
Readers are encouraged to contact their Members of Provincial Parliament in Ontario by clicking HERE.