“Today, Premier Ford announced the Government of Ontario will require people to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their vaccination status to access certain businesses.

I have believed for some time that this is the right thing to do in the interests of our collective health and well-being in the City of Toronto. I want to thank Premier Ford and the provincial government for moving forward with a proof of vaccination system.

While I look forward to seeing the full details of this system in the coming days, I am confident that this will help businesses, schools, sports venues, and institutions continue to reopen and, most importantly, stay open, and it will help us get people vaccinated and keep them healthy.

We have come a long way in our fight against COVID-19 and are so close to the end of this pandemic. The City of Toronto is committed to continuing to work with the provincial and federal governments to combat the fourth wave and the Delta variant.

Our focus continues to be on saving lives, keeping people healthy, and making sure that people, businesses, and our entire economy come back stronger than ever. The province-wide proof of vaccination system will help do that and, I firmly believe, encourage more people to get vaccinated and ensure we continue our progress.

The vast majority of Toronto residents – almost 77 per cent of residents 12 and older – are fully vaccinated. I continue to urge all residents to get vaccinated now to better protect themselves, their loved ones, and our entire city.”