By Huge Majority, Canadians Support Vaccine Passport Requirement For Entry

 A vast majority of Canadians support the idea of requiring a vaccine passport for international travelers to enter the country, a move already embraced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Almost eight in 10 Canadians (78%) agree that all travelers entering Canada should be required to have a vaccine passport, according to a new Ipsos survey. More than half (56%) strongly support the move.“Canadians need to be able to have the right kind of certification for international travel because, as we know, Canadians will want to travel internationally, and they will want to make sure they have the right credentials to do that from a vaccination perspective,” Hajdu said during a recent interview with CBC Radio.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said during a press conference last week that vaccine requirements are already part of international travel before COVID-19 and are “naturally to be expected when it comes to this pandemic and the coronavirus.”

So far, the administration of President Joe Biden has resisted the idea of a vaccine passport for the United States, and House Republicans last month moved to block such requirements.

“I am profoundly disturbed that the Biden Administration would even consider imposing vaccine passports on the American people,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) said in a statement on April 8. “My private healthcare decisions—and yours—are nobody else’s business.  Vaccine passports will not help our nation recover from COVID-19; instead, they will simply impose more Big Brother surveillance on our society.”

While some states are beginning to mandate vaccine passports, others, like Florida, are not.

“I especially applaud Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for being an early leader against vaccine passports at the state level.  My No Vaccine Passports Act builds on his efforts and will further protect Americans’ privacy rights and fundamental freedoms,” Biggs said.

The “No Vaccine Passport Act” would “prevent federal agencies from issuing any standardized documentation that could be used to certify a U.S. citizen’s COVID-19 status to a third party, such as a restaurant or an airline. Additionally, this bill prohibits proof of COVID-19 vaccination from being a requirement for access to federal or congressional property and services.”

“An agency may not issue a vaccine passport, vaccine pass or other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying the COVID-19 vaccination status of a citizen of the United States to a third party, or otherwise publish or share any COVID-19 vaccination record of a citizen of the United States or similar health information,” reads one of the provisions of the proposed bill. “Proof of COVID-19 vaccination shall not be deemed a requirement for access to Federal property or Federal services, or for access to congressional grounds or services.”

The bill would prevent the federal government from mandating passports, but states can still mandate their own.