Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 03

8 / Canadian Government Executive // May/June 2021 COVID-19 Some of the key challenges and issues that define the policy area are listed in Table 2. Use of Immunity Certificates There are several uses of immunity certifi- cates. Immunity certificates can be used to enable social activities such as visits to long- term cares, dining out at restaurants, visits to small businesses (including, but not limited to yoga studios, gyms etc.), social gatherings such as concerts and sports events, activities within community etc. They can also be used to promote economic activities such as work- place safety, tourism, etc. Mobility, including leisure and work-related travel, both domes- tic and international, can be enhanced using immunity certificates. Several countries are considering the use of proof of vaccination as criteria for travel. For the successful use of immunity certificates, it requires four dis- parate sources of data that can be integrated to ensure that the person has developed im- munity to the virus. These are immunization certificates (both doses), COVID-19 recov- ery results for acquired immunity, negative test results and negative exposure. Immunity certificates as an intergovernmental problem Immunity certificates inherit several aspects of the federal and provincial or territorial dynamics inherent in the design of the im- munization program in Canada. Implemen- tation of the immunity certificates is thus prone to areas of intergovernmental coop- eration and conflict. This article promotes a ‘systems-thinking’ approach to solve the challenges with immunity certificates as an intergovernmental problem. Systems-think- ing flips the perspective of approaching the intergovernmental problem to an external one, and the components of the system, i.e., the federal, provincial, and territorial gov- ernments must be designed to work together to address the problem. It also exposes and clarifies the boundaries of the system and its components - highlighting interfaces, areas of collaboration and conflict. The below ta- ble outlines the key areas impacting the im- munity certificates and their evaluation from an intergovernmental lens. Areas requiring collaboration are identified, and areas prone to conflicts are clarified with boundary con- Figure 2: Definition of Immunity Certificate for Use