What happens to businesses that refuse to enforce the province’s vaccination mandate?

The head of Hamilton's licensing department said the city has received two dozen complaints regarding businesses not following the province's recently launched proof-of-vaccination program.

As of Sept. 22, Ontarians are now required to present proof they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 - along with a piece of identification - in order to enter a number of indoor public settings, including restaurants, gyms and cinemas.

Those businesses are required to check for the proof when patrons enter the establishment. Business owners who do not comply with the rules can face fines of up to $10 million, according to the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA).

Have any fines been handed out in Hamilton?

The short answer is not yet," said director of licensing and bylaw services Monica Ciriello in an interview Wednesday.

According to Ciriello, bylaw officers are undertaking progressive enforcement" and providing education" to both businesses and patrons about the recently introduced provincial mandate.

Over the past weekend, bylaw officers visited 50 Hamilton businesses, according to spokesperson Michelle Shantz.

Of those, 24 businesses were visited for proof-of-vaccination complaints, while the remaining were for ROA violations.

What does progressive enforcement" look like?

Ciriello said when bylaw attends a business that's been flagged for not following the regulation, officers will walk them through" the new regulations and ensure the businesses understand what compliance would look like. She said businesses often want to comply, but don't know how."

Bylaw officers will also issue a warning to the business and will flag them for followup visits, said Ciriello.

We want to afford the businesses the opportunity to get into compliance and ensure they know what they have to have in place to follow the regulation," she said.

Ciriello said the city is also aware of online lists of businesses that claim they will not be enforcing the vaccine verification policy. Those businesses are front and centre" of their enforcement efforts, she added.

But when would a business be fined for not following provincial rules?

It depends on the situation, according to Ciriello, and falls to the discretion" of the bylaw officer when they're at the business in question. Bylaw is also starting to re-attend businesses that have been the subject of multiple complaints, she added.

If warnings have already been issued there, and there is still no improvement and no process in place for vaccine verification, charges would likely follow," said Ciriello.

If a business is found to be flagrantly disregarding" the mandate, despite warnings and fines, the Ministry of Labour could also get involved, said Ciriello. The business could also risk losing their licence to operate.

She noted that the city had visited Nique - a downtown Hamilton restaurant that said it wouldn't be enforcing the proof-of-vaccination program - over the weekend and found no violations.

But bylaw officers will be making a repeat visit, said Ciriello.

A handful of Hamilton businesses told The Spectator vaccine passports have been embraced by the vast majority" of their customers and, in some cases, have sparked the return of patrons who stayed away amid the pandemic.

****Correction: This story was updated Sept. 30 to correct the fact that Monica Ciriello is now director of licensing and bylaw services, and not city licensing manager, as was stated in the story.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com