As local businesses adapt to the vaccine passport system imposed earlier this week, the City of Greater Sudbury’s bylaw department will be working to help people comply with the new rules.
The same as with any other area of compliance the city’s bylaw department is charged with enforcing, bylaw co-ordinator Melissa Laalo said it’s not intended as an adversarial relationship.
“Our primary focus is to help resolve those by way of providing education,” she said, adding their goal is always to help people understand expectations and understand the legislation.
“We want to ensure people have the information before we’re going down any other avenues, and connecting them with those resource tools like Public Health and the ministries that are here to help them get through these very challenging times.”
As previously reported, the vaccine passport mandate requires that people show proof of vaccine to access non-essential services such as restaurants, bars, gyms, theatres and casinos. Recreational facilities, such as those operated by the municipality, also require proof of vaccination.
Proof of vaccination can come in the form of vaccination receipt or medical exemption along with a government-issued ID.
Thus far in the pandemic, Laalo said the city’s bylaw department has received approximately 1,200 complaints related to gatherings and 1,110 complaints or questions related to businesses following COVID-related health guidelines.
When it comes to complaints, bylaw enforcement officers will either conduct a site visit or place a phone call when the adjustment required to comply with a rule is minor.
Compliance is always achieved in the end, Laalo said, pointing to the 21 fines levied against people and businesses for breaking COVID-related health rules as evidence that enforcement by education had worked in the vast majority of cases.
“We do our best to provide that education and compliance, and where we have no other choice and there’s a public safety concern and we have support from other agencies … bylaw is in a situation where we might have to lay charges, but it’s our last resort,” she said, adding that it’s never their intention to exasperate an already stressful situation.
“It’s a very challenging time for everybody -- individuals, businesses, moms and dads, schools; it’s another layer on our busy lives. … We just want to be that agency that gives them the help they need.”
People can register complaints, share concerns and ask questions related to the new guidelines by phoning the City of Greater Sudbury’s customer service line at 311.
Calls into the 311 line have been fairly consistent since the province’s emergency orders were put in place at the start of the pandemic, though Laalo said there’s always a spike when new rules come into play.
She expects the next spike to occur in the near future as people become more aware of the vaccine passport rules and take better notice of situations in which they should be asked for proof of vaccination.
As people learn the ins and outs of what the vaccine mandate entails, Laalo said a little understanding goes a long way.
“Our key message would be patience -- a greater understanding of what the public’s trying to achieve by public safety,” she said, adding that this has been achieved in the majority of cases.
“Generally, the community’s been wonderful. … I think we’re doing a great job as a community, I really do.”
Approximately 6,200 local residents have stepped up to receive COVID-19 vaccinations since Premier Doug Ford announced the vaccine passport policy on Sept. 1.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
