With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine passport in Quebec, homeless advocates in the province are voicing their concerns.
While the provincial government has stated people experiencing homelessness will be exempt from providing vaccination proof while entering non-essential businesses, many groups worry about how this will be put into practice.
READ MORE: Some ‘couldn’t be happier’ as Quebec’s COVID-19 vaccine passport takes effect
“We really don’t know the full list — is it all non-essential services or is it a limited number?” said James Hughes, Old Brewery Mission president and CEO.
“There is no identity card that says your homeless. There are a lot of people who don’t want to identify as homeless. They just want to use services like everybody else.”
As of Sept. 1, those aged 13 and over who want to access non-essential services such as restaurants, gyms and movie theatres are required to show proof of vaccination by showing their provincial QR code.
Hughes said there are a number of unanswered questions that leave too much room for interpretation and he believes marginalized groups will be affected.
“If a homeless person is refused entry to services, who do they call? Who is responsible for intervening to prevent the refusal from recurring?”
The biggest concern for Hughes is housing. The Old Brewery Mission remains unclear as to the interpretation of the term “accommodation” in the list of essential services.
“We’re hoping it covers all forms of housing including temporary, transitional and permanent housing, and that someone visiting an apartment won’t have to show proof of vaccination. We urge the Quebec Government to clarify these important details,” Hughes said.
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At Resilience Montreal, executive director David Chapman commends the provincial government’s decision to include the exemption for people experiencing homelessness.
“It would be unwise to further marginalize an already marginalized group,” Chapman said.
Yet Chapman sees a number of hurdles with the passport rollout.
He said that since the first day, he has seen very few vaccine passports in the hands of people frequenting the shelter.
“Things get stolen on the street or lost and it’s not ideal,” Chapman said.
Not many have the technology or phones to download the app.
As for paper versions many are being printed out with the help of local shelters.
According to the Old Brewery Mission, the vaccination program in partnership with local public health, notably the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montreal, is going swimmingly.
Currently, Hughes said there are no known cases of COVID-19 reported among the homeless population.
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The government says there will be a two-week leniency period lasting until Sept. 15. In that time, no penalties will be enforced.
Chapman and Hughes both said the two-week grace period the province is allowing will be needed to help iron out the kinks in the system.
“The homeless population are the last to be considered. So they are used to this pattern and this is why they have anxiety at the moment,” Chapman said.
Officials from the Old Brewery Mission said meetings with the provincial government on policy are scheduled in the coming days.
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