Quebec will revoke fake vaccine passports, health minister says amid anti-corruption probe
COVID-19 vaccine passports found to be faked will be revoked and criminal charges could be laid against people who bought them and produced them, Quebec’s health minister said Thursday amid an ongoing anti-corruption probe into alleged fraud schemes to evade the public health measure.
“The people who, unfortunately, did this … it’s very dangerous what they’ve done; to let unvaccinated people go to places that were reserved for vaccinated people,” said Minister Christian Dubé Thursday during a news conference on the COVID-19 situation in Quebec.
Quebec’s anti-corruption squad announced Wednesday it is investigating “various fraudulent schemes” to make and distribute fake vaccine passports. The Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) said it is working with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, municipal police forces, and the Quebec Crown prosecutor to identify potential violations of the law.
The unit said it wanted to keep the alleged schemes confidential “so as not to prejudice the gathering of evidence and the reputation of those who may be involved.”
“I used to be auditor, right, so I can tell you right now people are looking to see how many passports were issued,” Dubé said Thursday. “The UPAC is doing fantastic work and when we’re able to, we will revoke the passports.”
In the near future, once restaurants reopen their dining rooms in the province, they will be able to flag a fraudulent vaccine passport and prevent the user from entering the business, the health minister added.
Criminal charges could be laid not only for individuals responsible for making the fake passports, but also those who buy them, the province says. People found guilty could face charges under the Criminal Code or the Public Health Act.
Mathieu Galarneau, a spokesperson for UPAC, told CTV News that the agency has received “a large number of reports about false vaccine passports in the past few months, since late fall.”
He would not confirm a La Presse report that said “thousands” of reported fake passports are being investigated by UPAC.
“We are looking into reports of serious amounts of false vaccine passports,” Galarneau said.
“Given the context of public health guidelines [over COVID-19] and the confidence people place in the places they can access with the passports, it is important that these [fraudulent passports] be thoroughly investigated.”
He said UPAC is considering all types of possible scams, including those involving a network of people.
Anyone with information regarding the production or distribution of fake vaccine passports is asked to contact UPAC by calling 1-844-541-UPAC or by filling out a confidential form on its website.
Galarneau added that although the form is currently only available in French the agency is currently working to make its website more bilingual.
The warning from the anti-corruption body comes one day after Quebec made the vaccine passport mandatory to enter government-run liquor (SAQ) and cannabis (SQDC) stores — a measure Dubé has said could be expanded to more public settings in order to drive up vaccination rates amid the Omicron wave of the pandemic.
The vaccine passport has already been applied to restaurants, bars, cinemas, places of worship, outdoor festivals, and several other locations.
It’s not the first time authorities in Quebec have opened an investigation into alleged fraudulent vaccine passport schemes.
CTV News reported in October that the health ministry had to make tweaks to its vaccine verification process after people were able to bypass the system using phoney immunization documents from Ontario.
CTV was able to contact sellers involved in the operation that were offering fake vaccine passports for as much as $500.
At the time, Montreal police said they were investigating at least 10 cases of fake documents related to the vaccine passport.
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Tom Mulcair: The anti-fraud squad and anti-vaccine-pass fraudsters
With files from CTV Montreal's Max Harrold
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.