Film academy president David Rubin said Smith’s resignation was accepted.

“We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the academy’s standards of conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18,” Rubin said.

Smith loses voting privileges with his resignation. But there are other, less-tangible benefits to being part of the academy, Hollywood’s most prestigious organization. It bestows industry credibility on its members. Membership is by invitation only, with a once-a-year membership review.

WATCH | Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage during Oscars: It’s been a few days since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Since then, Smith has apologized while others have called for him to be stripped of his Best Actor award. We process The Slap, and how it complicates Will Smith’s win and legacy. Plus: Bridgerton is back! We discuss what makes the show work, and how Netflix is so successful at making it the buzziest show out right now. Segments Warm Up Question – 00:01:30 Will Smith Slap Aftermath – 00:12:20 Bridgerton – 00:35:20 Drop It In The Group Chat – 00:52:45 56:29

“I betrayed the trust of the academy,” Smith wrote in his statement. “I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work…. I am heartbroken.

“I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.

“Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”

Smith’s resignation came two days after the academy met to initiate those proceedings. Those proceedings could have resulted in suspension or expulsion, and it was not immediately clear what additional punishment he could face.

Had he been expelled, Smith would have joined a small group of men removed from the academy: Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and the actor Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out for sharing awards screeners.

On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. He then went on to win the best actor award for his role in King Richard.

Rock, who was about to present the Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”

Smith stunned Rock, the theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the hair loss condition alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the G.I. Jane movie. 

After Smith’s attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “get my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.” When Smith took the stage again less than hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologized to the academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock.

The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defence, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.

That included Ahmir (Questlove) Thompson, director of the winning documentary, Summer of Soul, and the film’s producers. They claimed their awards in the unsettled moments following Smith’s attack and outburst, when the room’s attention was shattered.

Before the disruption, the ceremony had represented a reset from the pandemic-constrained versions of the past two years. It was back in its home theatre, boasted a trio of well-received female hosts — Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes — and had tallied several breakthrough winners.

Among them were West Side Story star Ariana DeBose, the first Afro-Latina and openly LGBTQ actor to win in the category of best supporting actress, and Troy Kotsur of CODA, the first deaf male actor to win the supporting actor prize. The night ended with CODA being crowned best picture, a landmark achievement for a streaming service and for a film with a largely deaf cast.

“The industry is happy to see it go,” said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association. 

“In our view, the vaccination cards have served its purpose. We participated as an industry to encourage people to get vaccinated.”

Tostenson said he believes 99 per cent of restaurants will no longer check for vaccination status.

Restaurants tired of fighting with patrons

Amy Lashek, owner of Dolly’s Fish Market in Prince Rupert, said the removal of the vaccine passport will make work life easier for her staff.

“A lot of patrons were rude or not accepting of the fact that we were checking for passes,” Lashek told CBC News.

“We were hit hard with the vaccine passes and there were a lot of people that frequently came to our restaurant that were no longer allowed to come.”

She said she’s expecting sales to increase as more customers return to dining in. 

Program no longer needed, Dr. Henry says

The vaccine card program was first introduced on Sept. 13 and required anyone who wanted to attend concerts, sporting events, movie, restaurants, gyms and other indoor spaces to present proof they had received first one, and then two, doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

At the time, the province was working to reduce the load on hospitals as primarily unvaccinated people filled emergency rooms.

Now, levels of vaccination are high enough that the cards are no longer needed from a public health standpoint, said Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

B.C. will drop its mandatory vaccine card system this Friday. There will also be a fourth round of vaccine doses for elderly and immunocompromised British Columbians. For more on this, we reached provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. 10:38

“We have a very strong level of protection from vaccinations across our communities, so it’s really time to sunset it,” she said in an interview on CBC’s The Early Edition.

“We’re not seeing break-through hospitalizations in people who have that third dose of the vaccine, particularly in people under 60.”

Just over half eligible British Columbians have received three doses of vaccination, according to provincial data.

According to numbers released by the province, unvaccinated people continue to account for the largest share of deaths, critical-care patients and hospitalizations related to COVID-19.

The province is still encouraging people to get vaccinated and has started distributing fourth doses for vulnerable populations, including those over 70.

Proof of immunization will still be required in federally regulated places, such as airplanes, and in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Asked if she could foresee a scenario where public health measures such as masking or vaccine card mandates could return, Henry said “not in the short term.”

“The only thing that I could see is if we had the emergence of a new strain of this virus that was able to evade our vaccines and cause serious or very severe illness in a lot of people.”

Vulnerable people uncertain

However, some vulnerable people and experts are uncertain if lifting the measures is a good idea.

Immunocompromised people like Joanna Unger said having the extra layer of protection was comforting, and it allowed her to enjoy dining out and going to the movie theatre again.

Now, she says, she feels less safe going to public spaces.

“I’ll probably pull back on things that I’m doing, I’ll do more stuff outside and maybe less going into restaurants,”she said.

Daryl Leiski, a physician and owner of Crossroads Brewing and Distilling in Prince George, said he would like to continue using the vaccine passport program at least until the end of April.

“I think there will be a bit of an uptick in unvaccinated people getting the virus,” said Leiski. “I think it’s important to keep our patrons safe and to come to a place knowing that everybody is vaccinated in that place.”

He said he will make a decision on whether he will continue to implement the mandate after discussing it with his staff.

“I might lose some patrons but I think for the community, I got to put my other hat on.”

‘We’re making the same errors’

Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency room doctor, said the end of the vaccine card and masking requirement sends the wrong message as the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant of Omicron is spreading quickly.

“We think there’s going to be another BA.2 wave and we don’t think it’s going to be any different than what other jurisdictions are seeing, like Ontario and Quebec, because we’re making the same errors,” said Filiatrault, who speaks for Protect Our Province B.C., a group of health-care professionals, scientists and advocates calling for evidence-based policies.

Filiatrault said she’s concerned about a rise in hospitalizations similar to the one in the United Kingdom, where, she said, restrictions were lifted too quickly and people were reinfected with COVID-19.

Fifty-nine per cent of British Columbians aged 18 and up have received a third dose of vaccine, which Filiatrault said isn’t high enough as BA.2 spreads.