Manitobans can now access federal proof of vaccination for travellers

Manitobans can now access a new proof of vaccination for international travellers that will meet pan-Canadian standards.

People living in the province can sign up for the digital certificate through Manitoba's Immunization Card website, but it won't be usable until Oct. 30. 

On that date, all travellers age 12 and older taking flights leaving Canadian airports or travelling on Via Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains must be fully vaccinated before boarding. Passengers on non-essential marine vessels like cruise ships must also be immunized before travelling.

There will be a short transition time when individuals will be able to travel domestically if they can show a negative COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of their travel date — but that leeway will end Nov. 29 and full vaccination (two weeks past the second dose) will become a hard rule the next day.

People will need to show a printout of the QR code and their detailed vaccine information, or the copy that's emailed to them after they sign up, when travelling out of Canadian airports, train stations and ports.

At this point, it's a digital-only certificate.

The province is in discussions with the federal government to see if there's a way to have both provincial and federal vaccination information on the same physical card, Central Services Minister Reg Helwer said at a news conference on Monday.

By early next month, the Manitoba immunization app will show both the provincial and federally-regulated vaccine cards so users can toggle between them.

The province says it is working to update Manitoba's verification app — which scans the provincial proof of vaccination card — to be able to verify the pan-Canadian credential. That update will be ready by mid-November.

The province says people must use their passport to confirm their identity when they use the pan-Canadian vaccine card, however, the Manitoba card only requires a driver's licence.

Personal health information

The province is recommending that people use their provincial vaccination card when in Manitoba because it displays less personal information than the Canadian one and affords better privacy.

The federal government said last week that standardized COVID-19 proof of vaccination will include the holder's name and date of birth, the number of doses received, the type of vaccine, lot numbers, dates of vaccination and a QR code that includes the vaccination history. The documentation was designed with what the government calls a "common look" featuring the government of Canada logo and the Canadian flag.

"That's why we're recommending that for your local restaurants, that you continue to use the Manitoba code that just shows if you're vaccinated or not, it doesn't disclose any personal information," Helwer said.

"If you have travelled, you're pretty used to disclosing information to airlines and other agencies, and they're very good at protecting that information, so we think there's a good level of security with that sector."

The federally-regulated card and QR code was developed according to the SMART Health Card standard, which is approved by the International Organization for Standardization and endorsed by Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference Thursday that he's "very confident" countries around the world will accept Canadians' proof of vaccination.

As of Monday, 86.6 per cent of eligible Manitobans have had one vaccine dose and 83.2 per cent have both, according to Manitoba's vaccine dashboard.

Canada recently received Pfizer-BioNTech's application to extend vaccine eligibility to children aged five to 11. Helwer assumes these children will eventually need pan-Canadian vaccine certificates to travel once they become eligible.