Who should be mandating masks and vaccines?

This is a case where everyone seems to be kicking the can further down the road until they don't feel that they are able to do that any more.

The fact of the matter is simple; this topic has shown itself to be divisive enough that every inch is exploited as far as possible. You can't leave it up to individual businesses. Some won't bother, and those that do will be harassed by protesters and negative press. You're forced to juggle staying in business with acting responsibly.

You could mandate it at the Provincial level, which is better. But, still does little and also creates problems inter-Provincially. It is also not doing enough in my opinion.

I think that the mandate needs to come from the Federal government. Though, I understand that many Provinces may push back. However, I don't feel that this it would be any different than the numerous failed Supreme Court challenges against carbon pricing.

COVID, like GHG Emissions, doesn't obey borders. No Province has yet been able to enact a plan to successfully eradicate COVID-19 within their borders. And the continued introduction of new variants across all Provinces has likewise shown that no Province has been able to successfully even stop the spread over their borders.

This is just my opinion, but I think that the case is strong that the federal government does indeed have the authority to impose vaccination requirements and mask mandates nationally. I don't think it is something the government should try overnight. Rather, I think that the government needs to vocalize that they are planning this and then roll it out in phases.

Firstly, they should host a nationally recognized proof of vaccination system. A "vaccine passport" as it has been termed elsewhere. The system should be generalized and focused on protecting data so that it could theoretically be used for more than just COVID-19 vaccinations, but also as a mean as verifying other things which may need to translate across Provincial or even international borders. This might be achieved via a private block chain where each Province maintains a copy of the ledger, or it could be more old fashioned and work allowing each Province some means of communicating the necessary data back to the Federal owned servers.

After that, the government should start with vaccine mandates in any areas where they have that authority. Perhaps this too would be akin to the agreements made for carbon pricing where the government achieves this by mandating that Provinces implement their own approved system of enforcing vaccination and mask mandates. 

The idea here is to create a system where the requirements are consistent from the consumer, to the business to the Provincial government all the way to the Federal level. This absolves business owners and Provincial governments of blame over the rules and makes it harder to justify the protests.

Ultimately, individuals aren't respecting business owners decisions on this matter without Provincial guidance. And the Provinces are not acting consistently and are more prone to swings in political power. Additionally, moving this sort of thing to the Federal level also ensures a consistent experience. Right now, I don't really know what happens if my parents come from Nova Scotia to visit once the vaccine passport here goes into effect. Presumably, their vaccination records from Nova Scotia will make them eligible for the same rights, but at the end of the day you're at the mercy of the establishment vetting those credentials.