Quebec scraps planned tax on the unvaccinated

Quebec Premier François Legault has scrapped his proposed tax on the unvaccinated, sources tell CBC and Radio-Canada.

As first reported by La Presse, the premier is set to make the announcement at a press conference this afternoon, at 1 p.m.

The tax, which was announced in January by the premier, would have imposed a monetary penalty on Quebecers who did not get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Details of the tax had remained vague, with Legault saying it could be included in provincial tax filings. He had said he wanted the cost to be “significant,” suggesting it would be more than $100. Roughly 10 per cent of eligible Quebecers remain unvaccinated.

“These people, they put a very important burden on our health-care network,” Legault said at the time. “I think it’s reasonable a majority of the population is asking that there be consequences.”

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A day after the resignation of Quebec’s public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda, Premier Francois Legault proposed a new tax on people not vaccinated against COVID-19, though he didn’t announce a timeline or amount of the tax. 1:59

Community advocates, bio-ethicists and other experts raised concerns about the proposal, saying that more education was needed, instead of punitive measures. Others questioned the legal ramifications, saying the proposed tax could run afoul of the Canada Health Act.

The measure was announced immediately after Dr. Horacio Arruda, the province’s outgoing director of public health, handed in his letter of resignation.

Opposition parties accused Legault Tuesday of only floating the idea of the tax in order to distract from Arruda’s departure.

“Mr. Legault improvises constantly,” said Quebec Liberal leader Dominique Anglade. “He came up with this idea that was not only irresponsible, that was not thought through, that didn’t have any legal support to it.”

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, accused the premier of “playing poker” with Quebecers and putting a strain on social cohesion in the province.

“We have a premier who takes his population for fools,” said Plamondon.

“I was going to say, ‘a premier who treats his population like children,’ but I treat my children with more respect for their intelligence and with more transparency than the premier is doing right now with the Quebec population.”

Both Anglade and Plamondon also accused Legault and the CAQ of making decisions based on polling instead of science, noting that it is an election year. Quebecers will head to the polls to elect their provincial representatives this coming fall.

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