ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Survey reveals one in five vaccine-hesitant Canadians would lie about jab to travel

Share
toronto -

A new survey suggests about 20 per cent of vaccine-hesitant Canadians would lie about their COVID-19 vaccine history if injections were required for international or domestic travel.

conducted by the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA), found that 14 per cent of Canadians are not interested in getting the vaccine, and among those, about 20 per cent would lie about it if vaccines were a requirement for travel or entry into large events.

Will McAleer, THIA’s executive director and spokesperson, said the number of people willing to lie about their vaccine history is somewhat expected given the amount of people already caught faking documentation to travel during the pandemic. 

“We saw a virtual cottage industry in the international travel space with fake COVID-19 tests, the PCR tests that are required in order to get back into the country,†he said in a recent phone interview with CTVNews.ca. “All around the globe, there were fake ones popping up just so people could travel.â€

As recently as May, after presenting COVID-19 test results upon arrival at the Toronto airport, while other travellers have also been fined and charged after presenting fake documents while trying to enter Canada.

The survey also found that 31 per cent of unvaccinated Canadians would get a COVID-19 vaccine if it were required for international travel. 

McAleer said this information could be useful when it comes to getting more Canadians vaccinated.

“What we're saying is it could be an interesting way for the government to use a good carrot approach to getting people vaccinated by just saying: ‘Hey, look, in order to travel, you're going to need to provide proof of vaccination,’†he said.

“If it's a reality out there among many of the countries Canadians travel to, it makes sense for government to recognize that and to leverage it as best they can.â€

Several countries, including Greece, Denmark, France, the Bahamas and Barbados, already require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative COVID-19 test for entry. Newfoundland and Labrador is also preparing to allow fully vaccinated Canadians into the province beginning on July 1.

“What we're seeing is there is a swift and full movement toward this type of proof in various forms,†McAleer said. “It's likely that they're going to be some digital technologies that get put in place. The Canadian government and provincial governments are going to have to figure out how we get our proof of vaccines.â€

Vaccine proof for international travel is nothing new. Most African and Asian countries already require proof of before entering, depending from where the traveller is arriving.

Other parts of the world also require proof of vaccination against polio and meningococcal meningitis.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.