A special contribution is expected to be paid by Canadians who remain unvaccinated. In particular, Quebec will reportedly introduce this special "health fee" in an effort to reduce the incidence of the Omicron mutation in the coronavirus.
However, the tax is still under discussion. According to Canada's provincial prime minister, François Lego, 10% of Quebec residents who have not received a single dose of coronavirus vaccine to date should not "harm" 90% of those who have been vaccinated.
"It's not up to all Quebec citizens to pay for this," he told a news conference, referring to the "financial burden for all" residents of the province.
Lego explained that although unvaccinated adults make up only 10% of the population, they make up 50% of the patients in the intensive care unit (ICU), which he said was "shocking".
The special contribution will not apply to people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.
"I understand and I also feel great dissatisfaction for the unvaccinated minority which, in proportion, is flooding our hospitals," he said.
A few days ago, the Quebec authorities had already announced that access to some shops such as those that sell alcohol and cannabis will be banned for the unvaccinated.
As in many other countries around the world, the pressure on people who have not been vaccinated is growing.
But Quebec, which has again imposed restrictive measures because of the wave of infections attributed to the Omicron variant, is among the first regions in the world to plan to impose a special levy on those who refuse vaccines.
In the province of 8 million people, hospitals facing chronic staff shortages have become saturated. 255 people are hospitalized in their ICUs.
Opposition parties have blamed the Quebec government's plans for "dividing" the province's citizens or "completely forgetting" vulnerable people.
The federal government of Canada is also considering depriving people who refuse to be vaccinated of unemployment benefits.
The North American health authorities announced yesterday that in the past 24 hours 16.970 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed in the territory, bringing the total to 2.612.250, while the deaths of patients due to its complications COVID-19 close to 31.000 (that's 30.946 exactly), according to CTV.
Source: edaily