Quebec, Canada’s province, is ready to levy a new health tax for people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19, as it battles to manage the Omicron strain.
“We are working on a health contribution for all the adults who are refusing to get vaccinated” stated Quebec Premier Francois Legault because they’re a “financial burden for all Quebecois.”
He believes that the 10% of Quebecois who didn’t take any vaccine doses must not “hurt” the 90% who have.
In a press conference, he said that “it is not on all Quebecois to pay for that, specifying that the French-speaking province expected the tax to be substantial.
“I feel this discontent with regard to the unvaccinated minority which, all things considered, clogs our hospitals,” he said.
The Quebec premier noted that this 10% of unvaccinated individuals account for 50% of intensive care patients. He described it as “shocking.”
The new regulation will not affect those who don’t take the vaccines due to medical reasons.
2,742 people in Quebec’s 8 million population have COVID-19, with 255 of them in intensive care.
The number of patients admitted to hospitals in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is also on the rise. There are 3,220 people under care and 477 in intensive care.
Limitations
On December 30, Quebec announced the reinstatement of certain limitations in the battle against fresh Coronavirus outbreaks. A curfew of 10 p.m. and a ban on private meetings are among the limitations.
The province has stated that anyone without vaccinations will be denied access to non-essential establishments. Thus, beginning with those that sell alcohol and cannabis.
However, Quebec’s Conservative opposition leader, Eric Duhaime, bemoaned the provincial government’s anti-COVID-19 stance. He tweeted that the new fee would “divide” Quebecois.
The tax is a “distraction,” according to Dominique Anglade. He is the head of the Quebec Liberal Party and also a supporter of universal vaccination.
Worldwide measure for unvaccinated
Although Quebec was the first to establish a specific tax, the pressure on people who choose to remain unvaccinated is increasing worldwide.
The French government has implemented a vaccine passport. President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he wants to “piss off” those who don’t take vaccines.
Austria has made coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all people. Italy has also done the same for anyone over the age of 50.
Singapore has indicated that it will no longer reimburse the costs of Covid treatment for those who refuse the vaccine.
There is a proposal at the federal level in Canada that persons who don’t take vaccines be denied unemployment benefits.
