A Toronto city councillor who pushed for vaccine passports to be implemented in Ontario was a vehement opponent of the practice of police carding in 2015, social media posts reveal.
Last month, Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam urged the Ontario government to implement a sweeping vaccine passport system similar to the one currently in place in Quebec.
Under the program, digital proof of vaccination would be required to enter so-called non-essential services such as restaurants, bars, events and other locations.
Along with producing a vaccine passport, Canadians will be required to also provide photo ID to access those public settings.
In 2015, Wong-Tam tweeted about how the practice of carding, or police officers stopping people who meet the description of wanted crime suspects to produce identification, was a form of racial profiling.
True North reached out to Wong-Tam to ask whether she held the same views when it comes to the vaccine passport but did not receive a response.
According to official statistics, vaccine hesitancy is highest among black Canadians and some Indigenous populations.
“Certain sub-groups in Canada are more likely to report COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. These include black Canadians, Indigenous peoples, newcomers, and younger adults, among others,” a federal government backgrounder claims.
Recently, Ontario’s Advocate for Community Opportunities Jamil Jivani came out against the government’s plan to implement vaccine passes, saying it would create second class citizens.
“I agree with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s comments on July 15, when he said vaccine passports will create a two-tiered, ‘split society.’ Provincial mandatory vaccine passports will further marginalize a significant number of Canadians who are already struggling in our economy,” Jivani said on social media.
