DETROIT — Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Monday announced the end of the province's COVID-19 vaccine passport system, effective March 1. The vaccine passport system required people to offer proof of vaccination for a multitude of activities, from shopping to the gym to restaurants.
Ford said the decision was in the works "long before" seven days of protests and a blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. The protesting, spurred by COVID-19 restrictions and a trucker vaccine mandate, had threatened the economies of both nations.
Ford said the end of the vaccine passport system, whose federal version has inspired a weekslong trucker convoy in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, comes "not because of what's happening in Ottawa or Windsor, but despite it."
Along with the end of vaccine passports, capacity limits for personal gatherings and public events will be removed.
"We're moving in this direction because it is safe to do so," Ford said. "Through the advice of (Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health for Ontario), we accepted the passports. Through the advice of Dr. Moore, we're going to get rid of the passports."
Added Moore: "All of the metrics are improving dramatically in terms of the number of people hospitalized, the number of people in intensive care units, the percentage of tests that are positive. So we'll continue to monitor those data sets."
Citing a 92% Ontario vaccination rate of people 12 and up, Moore said the mandate "served its purpose," but that "as of March 1, it will no longer be necessary."
"We have the level of protection that we need to remove public health measures and have made terrific strides on reducing the risk," Moore said.
The COVID-19 pandemic "polarized us in a way we could never imagine," Ford said. "But for all of this, I can still take comfort in knowing that there remains so much that unites us."
Ford said repeatedly that "Ontario is open for business." He cited conversations with "Fortune 500 CEOs" worried about whether Ontario is stable enough to do or expand their businesses.
"We will guarantee you a stable environment and to make sure we get goods from one side of the border to the other," Ford said.
Matt Moroun, chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Company, which owns the Ambassador Bridge, issued a "call to action" Monday.
"This week has shown the world just how much our shared economies rely on border crossings like the Ambassador Bridge," Moroun noted. "They are critical pipelines that supply the goods we need to keep our factories going, our neighbors working and our economies thriving."
The bridge reopened late Sunday night for business.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday called the reopening "a win for Michigan's working families."
“I want to thank the unified coalition of business leaders and organizations representing working men and women on both sides of the border for coming together to get this resolved," Whitmer said in a statement. "And I appreciate the U.S. and Canadian governments for hearing Michigan’s concerns loud and clear and stepping up to reopen the bridge."
Moroun urged leaders on both sides of the bridge to "join together to come up with an actionable plan that will protect and secure all border crossings in the Canada/U.S. corridor and ensure that this kind of disruption to critical infrastructure will never happen again."
Ford repeatedly urged the protesters in Ottawa and elsewhere to return home. He threatened "serious consequences" for people found to be "creating chaos" — including lifelong loss of driving privileges and the "indefinite" government seizure of their vehicles.
"At the end of the day, we need law and order," Ford said. "Our country is at risk right now. It's not just happening here in Ottawa. It's happening in (British Columbia) and Alberta, New Brunswick."
