As the number of Canadians receiving COVID-19 vaccines continues
to rise, vaccine passports are now sparking discussion as a means
to return to "normal". However, privacy commissioners and
ombudspersons across Canada have stressed that these proposed tools
raise a host of privacy and data security concerns, many of which
are only now being considered as governments and organizations
implement reopening plans.
In their simplest terms, vaccine passports are a way of
documenting and verifying that a person has received certain
vaccines. The passports would then allow the individual to
travel, and gain access to goods and services. The rationale
behind vaccine passports is that vaccinated people have a decreased
risk of being infected and infecting others, and should therefore
be granted increased personal liberties for the trade-off of having
their personal health information collected (and tracked) across a
range of public and private sector entities.
