Music festival rolls out made-in-Ottawa vaccine passport, one month before province

An Ottawa electronic music festival that's one of the largest in Canada has debuted its own homegrownproof-of-vaccination system, one month before the Ontario government is due to roll out a provincewide digital vaccine passport.

The Escapade festival is requiring anyone in attendance to show proof they've been fully immunized against COVID-19. It'sconfirming people's status with the CANImmunize app, developed by a team at The Ottawa Hospital long before the pandemic began.

"We had a conversation with Ottawa Public Health aboutthe best way of tryingto process this, and that app stood out," said Ali Shafaee, the festival's executivedirector.

"It wasn't just an app [created because of]COVID ... so they already had a lot of the infrastructure in place."

Escapade's website instructs concertgoers toupload theirpersonal information and either a photo or a screenshot of theirvaccination receipts to the CANImmunizeapp.

The festival, which is taking place this weekend atRaymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park,also acceptsQR codes from Quebecerswho already have a provincial vaccine passport.

Shafaee said he doubled the number of entrance lanes and staff at the gate to smooth anydelays in processing tickets.

"A normal processing time can be 20 to 25 minutes," said Shafaee. "This year, it seems to be a little bit quicker."

Made-in-Ottawa solution

The CANImmunizeapp launched in2014 as ImmunizeCA, and wasfunded by the Public Health Agency of Canada anddeveloped by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital to help Canadians store, manage and access immunization information.

Its purpose was to warn users of nearby disease outbreaks and helptrack when vaccinations, booster and flushots were available.

"When COVID hit, we recognized that eventually there would need to be a vaccine, and we attempted to prepare for that eventuality." said Dr. Kumanan Wilson, an Ottawa physician andmember of the app'sdevelopment team.

CANImmunizehassincepartnered with the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness to coordinate that province'sCOVID-19response.

'Best done by a government organization'

Toensure appropriate userauthentication long-term, Wilson saidit's best the provincial passport system which is set to come into effect Sept. 22, with a digital certificate and mobile app expected by Oct. 22 is handled by the government.

"The information comes from the government repository. It needs to be valid, and the individuals who are authenticated need to know it came from a valid issuer," he said.

"All of those are best done by a government organization."

Until the app comes into effect, Ontarians will need to produceprinted or downloaded vaccination receipts and a valid photo identification to enterindoor venueslikegyms and restaurants as ofSept. 22.

In an email, a spokesperson for Ontario's Associate Ministry of Digital Government said it "applaud[s]" innovation in the private sector and will continue to consult with industry as it develops its ownverification app.

Escapade was last held in Ottawa in 2019, and organizers have had to cancel it three times due to COVID-19.

Festival organizers said the eventsold out at 8,500 tickets. The festival sells between20,000and 25,000 tickets in a normal year.

Although masks are requiredand security was on site to enforce the mandate, many in attendance lefttheir faces uncovered.