Don't Toss Your Quebec Vaccine Passport Just Yet, You Might Still Need It

On February 15, Health Minister Christian Dubé and interim National Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau held a press conference to announce the end of Quebec's vaccine passport. However, the passport is still here to stay under certain criteria.

The vaccine passport first came into effect throughout Quebec on September 1, 2021, and will officially be suspended for big stores, the SAQ and SQDC as of February 16.

On March 14, the vaccine passport will officially be a no-go province wide, however, that doesn't mean you've got the green light to delete the VaxiCode app for good.

During Tuesday's press conference, Christian Dubé said that the "passport is here to stay in certain circumstances."

It's still required for international travel, for instance.

"Let's be clear, we said that this passport is here to stay when we need it," Dubé stated. "If you want to go to Europe this summer, you'll have countries that will be requiring this passport either at this duty here [in Canada] or there."

While Christian Dubé reminded the pubic that "there could be a sixth wave," he said the decision to lift the vaccine passport right now is good news.

"We should be happy that we are able to withdraw the passport. It means things are going well. It's going better than a month ago," Dubé said. "The conditions are improving and if we can limit the measures and it's safe to do it — I think that's good news."

Although Quebecers won't have to dig for their ID's as of March 14, Dubé discussed the possibility of re-instating the vaccine passport if needed during the National Assembly meeting on February 11. So, while it might be good news for right now, let's not get too excited.