Quebec Police Say Former Health Authority Worker Made Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Documents

People walk by a sign outside a restaurant advising customers of the Quebec government’s COVID-19 vaccine passport, in Montreal on Sept. 6, 2021. The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes

Quebec anti-corruption police say a former employee of a Montreal health authority is facing criminal charges for allegedly creating fake proof-of-vaccination documents for COVID-19.

Deborah Kapinga, 31, of Brossard, Que., south of Montreal, has been charged with one count of forgery and one count of unauthorized use of a computer.

Mathieu Galarneau, a spokesman for the anti-corruption unit known as UPAC, says Kapinga made the fake documents in April 2022.

Galarneau says Kapinga is the fourth person to face criminal charges for making false COVID-19 documents, adding that UPAC has another 40 investigations open into the illegal use and production of fraudulent vaccine passports.

Kapinga, who was an employee of the health authority in south-central Montreal, is scheduled to appear in court on March 16.

While Canada no longer requires travellers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, countries such as the United States continue to oblige visitors to be vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.