OTTAWA — The federal government is moving ahead with plans for a country-wide proof of vaccination system, often referred to as a vaccine passport, with an eye to safely restarting international travel.

Federal ministers including Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, outlined more details about the initiative today.

It comes after months of Canada saying that it would collaborate with other G7 countries on proof of vaccination for international travel, and just days after the Canadian border reopened to fully vaccinated American travellers on Aug. 9, with many wondering when the U.S. will reciprocate.

Back on June 18, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada would have a 2-track proof of vaccination system, with certification uploaded to the ArriveCAN app in the short term, and a national solution starting this fall in coordination with the provinces.

According to 680 News, federal ministers announced today that plans for the national system of proof of vaccination credentials are moving ahead, and the feds are actively working with the provinces and territories to make it happen.

“As the world returns to travel, everyone is going to move at their own pace,” said Mendicino.

He added: “We are working actively with the provinces and territories on a secure, pan-Canadian proof of vaccination for international travel,” according to reports in Global News.

Global is also reporting that the feds said the government is available to work with the provinces to use the proof of vaccination on the domestic front too: “If the provinces wish to work with us in order to use our federal credentials within their province, we would be happy to work with them,” said Leblanc.

EU countries got the go-ahead for a digital COVID certificate system in June 2021, and as reported today in Travelweek, countries including France and Italy are currently using health pass and green pass systems to keep venues safe and open to fully vaccinated residents and visitors.

Meanwhile Quebec announced last week that it is moving ahead with plans for a vaccine passport. Over the next two weeks Quebec businesses will test an app that will run the vaccine passport system the government plans to impose across the province on Sept. 1. In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has so far still been saying no to vaccine passports.