Canada’s Quebec to tax unvaccinated adults as coronavirus pressures health system
- Unvaccinated people make up 10 per cent of the population in the badly hit province, but account for about 50 per cent of those in the ICU
- The proposal will not apply to those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons
Quebec, Canada’s second most populous province, is planning to force adults refusing to get Covid-19 vaccinated pay a “health contribution” in a move likely to spur a debate about individual rights and social responsibility.
Premier Francois Legault told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that the proposal, details of which were still being finalised, would not apply to those who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons.
Unvaccinated people put a financial burden on others and the provincial finance ministry is determining a “significant” amount that unvaccinated residents would be required to pay, Legault said, adding that such an amount would not be less than C$100 (US$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.