Vaccine Passports - UPDATED SEP 17
/Some new information came out on Tuesday, September 14 detailing the Ontario Ministry of Health’s guidelines for the provincial government’s vaccine passport mandate.
As indicated in our previous email to our members, we were basing our decision on the official news release from the Office of the Premier, which used some rather vague terms. Our interpretation was pessimistic, given the Office of the Premier’s history over the past year and a half with lockdowns and restrictions, and we wanted to get out ahead of what we thought would be coming, based on that information.
Our assumptions proved wrong. The new, more detailed information indicates that the Ministry of Health’s intention with the law is to require passports only to “higher risk” settings where there is more close physical contact or potential of being exposed to other people’s bodily fluids (sweat), and where masks cannot be worn at all times.
We were fully expecting the detailed guidelines to mention indoor shooting ranges by name, as they have in the past, but this proved to be incorrect.
It is therefore our informed opinion that proof of vaccination will NOT be required for range use:
- Target shooting is not a contact sport
- Target shooting is not an activity that involves heavy breathing or sweating from exertion
- There is no shared stationary exercise equipment
- Masks can be worn while shooting
- The air flow in the range is robust, with a constant flow of fresh air flowing in one direction away from the shooters at all times
- The shooting benches have social distancing built into their function
No member key fobs will be locked out, no proof of vaccination will be required from members or guests. All members and guests will be required to wear masks at all times while shooting, and all high-touch surfaces (target controls and bench tops) will be required to be wiped down with disinfectant wipes after each use.
It should also be clarified that there was never any intention to require proof of vaccination to enter the store. “Non-essential” retail shopping is exempt from this requirement, and this is very clearly stated in the Ministry of Health’s new guidelines.
Finally, we have received word from the Firearms Safety Education Service of Ontario (FSESO; http://fseso.org ), the organization that oversees and regulates all Canadian Firearms Safety Course instruction in the province. In terms of our firearms training programs, FSESO is our boss. The requirement from FSESO is that all students taking firearms safety training courses after September 22 will be required to provide proof of vaccinations. This will apply universally to all of our training courses, including our future CSSA PPC courses. This is completely distinct and separate from range use – there is generally no cross-traffic between the range and the classroom, and the operation of one does not impact the other.
We apologize for our mistake, and we hope that it is clear that it was never our intention to compel anyone into going against their personal beliefs, or to invade anyone’s privacy. It was an honest mistake, and we are sorry to have asked this of you unnecessarily. We thank all of you for the patience and understanding you have shown us despite our initial mishandling of this situation.