British Columbians may need two vaccine cards for air travel, local activities: Horgan

British Columbians may need both a provincial and federal vaccine card if they want to fly anywhere or cross the border after November, according to the premier.

Ottawa unveiled its version of the vaccination pass for domestic and international travel, but Premier John Horgan says it does not mesh with the provincial card because B.C.’s version does not have the date a person was fully immunized or the batch and lots of their vaccinations.

NEW: BCers will require a federal immunization passport when it comes to that – for national travel on planes & trains as of November and for travel outside canada.
“Will look at how we can bring the two together” @jjhorgan says of BC & fed passes#bcpoli @CityNewsVAN #covid19

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) October 21, 2021

“If you want to travel internationally or on federally regulated modes of transportation, you’re going to require a federal card … You’re going to need two at the moment and we’ll see how we go in the months ahead, how we can bring those two together,” Horgan explains.

“Obviously, everyone would like to have most things done yesterday. It would have been nice to have a federal immunization passport available before now. But there were a whole bunch of very good reasons why that wasn’t the case.”

What comes next. however, is not certain.

“This does create confusion for people who are anxious to travel, but we were pretty clear that if you’re leaving the country, tese are federal issues, not provincial,” Horgan said.

Horgan says part of the problem is B.C.’s pass was implemented early. However, Quebec’s pass, which was brought in before B.C.’s, does conform to federal standards.

Related Articles: 

• Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine passport unveiled for international, domestic travel

• COVID-19 vaccine required for most travellers within Canada

Starting Oct. 30, any travellers 12 years and older departing from a Canadian airport or travelling on federally regulated trains and boats will need to prove they are fully vaccinated, with limited exemptions. A vaccine mandate for employees of federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors comes into effect the same day.

In the interim, officials say the provincial proof of immunization card will be accepted.

– With files from Claire Fenton and Lisa Steacy