Ontario Business Groups Expect Strong Acceptance of QR Code COVID-19 Vaccine Certificates | The Canadian News

TORONTO – Ontario business groups expect strong acceptance of the new provincial app used to verify clients’ COVID-19 vaccination proof, but say they would like to receive financial support from the government to cover the additional costs associated with it.

The app, called Verify Ontario, was made available to businesses late last week and scans QR codes that are part of enhanced vaccine certificates issued to residents.

Businesses such as restaurants, gyms and spectator sports venues _ where proof of a vaccine is required _ can use the app to quickly check clients’ vaccination status. Previously, staff needed to verify paper or digital versions of vaccine receipts at the door.

While paper records will continue to be accepted, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said the app alleviates concerns about the possibility of fraudulent documents.

“The app removes a lot of guesswork or fine print,” Ryan Mallough, Ontario’s director of affairs for the federation, said in an interview.

Businesses are not required to use the app, but Mallough said he hopes it will be widely deployed.

Other companies that are not required to check clients’ vaccination records, such as those in retail, have also expressed interest in the app, but Mallough said the group advises them to seek legal advice before implementing vaccination testing policies. .

James Rilett of the Restaurants Canada industry group said that most restaurants intend to use the app, particularly full-service restaurants, and some are already using it.

“Most of the comments are positive,” he said in an interview. “For the most part, people have found it to be a successful experience.”

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Some operators have raised concerns about using their own personal devices for the application, Rilett said, but overall, the main complaint is that the system was not ready to go a month ago, when Ontario introduced its vaccine certificate system. .

Restaurants Canada said it is seeking financial assistance for companies to support the additional staff needed to implement the proof of vaccination system.

The CFIB also seeks similar support for contracting costs. Mallough said the group is also receiving questions about funding to help purchase the company’s smartphones to scan QR codes, rather than using the phone of an employee or business owner.

Ontario Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rocco Rossi said he expects the “vast majority” of business owners to use the app.

“We will take all the steps to reach the end of this very long tunnel and be able, in the safest way possible, to reopen the economy,” he said.

The government said more than 3.7 million of the more than 10 million fully vaccinated Ontarians had downloaded enhanced vaccine certificates with QR codes as of Wednesday.

The app for businesses to scan those codes was downloaded more than 896,000 times, according to Deputy Minister of Digital Government Kaleed Rasheed. He said he expects download numbers to continue to rise, after hearing positive feedback so far.

“I think companies will keep downloading this app because none of us want to go back to a lockdown,” Rasheed said in an interview.

Mallough said the CFIB has been answering questions about the requirement to scan QR codes every time at membership-based businesses that see the same customers repeatedly, and about medical exemptions that cannot yet be scanned in-app and must be accepted on paper.

Rasheed said his ministry is still waiting for details on how medical exemptions can be integrated into the application, but said the province wanted to provide the application for businesses in the meantime.

Amir Benedikt, owner of By the Way Cafe in Toronto, said some of his staff started using the app, but added that the restaurant was still prepared to verify paper vaccine receipts, especially for customers who are not experts in technology.

“I think, overall, it’s a good idea,” he said of the province’s vaccine certificate system. “It makes it maybe easier to control the situation.”

However, he noted that he would like to see greater enforcement of the policy and other public health restrictions such as capacity rules, which some business owners have publicly said they do not plan to follow.

“If my neighbor doesn’t play by the rules, and I have to play by the rules, and people agree to that, I ask myself, ‘Why am I doing it? “

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