Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province, is to charge all COVID-19 unvaccinated adults over the age of 18 a “significant” tax if they refuse to get at least one dose of the vaccine in the upcoming weeks.
Premier François Legault announced during a Press Briefing on Tuesday, January 11, that the 10 per cent unvaccinated Quebecers are causing a strain on the province’s health network.
“Because of this, I’m announcing that we are currently working on a ‘health contribution’ that all adults in Quebec who refuse to get vaccinated will be charged,” he said.
He clarified: “All adults in Quebec who don’t accept to go get at least a first dose during the upcoming weeks will have a ‘bill’ to pay because there are consequences on our health network.”
“Even if it’s only 10 per cent of the adult population in Quebec who are not vaccinated,” Legault claimed that 50 per cent of the intensive care beds are occupied by unvaccinated patients.
If people cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons, the premier confirmed that these individuals will be exempt from having to pay the new fee.
Legault explained that this new measure is being imposed so that the 10 per cent of Quebecers who refuse to get vaccinated don’t affect the 90 per cent of the population who have chosen to get vaccinated.
The exact amount of this charge, which is being coined as a “health contribution,” has yet to be determined, but the premier stressed that his government wants it to be a “significant amount,” hinting that such an amount would not be less than C$100 ($79.50).
Governments globally have imposed movement restrictions on the unvaccinated and few have levied fines on the elderly, but a sweeping tax on all unvaccinated adults could be a rare and controversial move.
While such a tax could be justified in the context of a health emergency, McGill University medicine and health sciences professor Carolyn Ells said, whether it survives a court challenge would depend on the details.
But Ells expressed surprise that the government was taking such a “dramatic” step now, when options such as further expanding vaccine mandates remain.
Provinces across Canada are tackling an exponential rise in COVID-19 cases that has forced tens of thousands of people into isolation and burdened the healthcare sector.
The highly transmissible Omicron variant has made it difficult for restrictive measures to curb the spread and health experts have stressed the importance of getting double and tripled vaccinated.
Quebec has been one of the worst-hit, regularly recording the highest daily count of coronavirus cases of all provinces and having several thousand healthcare workers off their jobs.
“The vaccine is the key to fight the virus. This is why we’re looking for a health contribution for adults who refuse to be vaccinated for non-medical reasons,” Legault said.