Trudeau not ruling out possible Canada anti-vax tax

Less than a day after Quebec’s premier announced a potential charge for unvaccinated adults in his province, the Prime Minister is not ruling out the possibility of a national anti-vax tax.

The update from Justin Trudeau comes as provinces face increasing strains on their healthcare systems due to the Omicron COVID-19 wave.

Trudeau was asked Wednesday about the possibility of a national financial charge for those who continue to refuse vaccination without valid medical reasons.

“We’ve received that proposal with interest by the Quebec government, but there’s a lot more details that we have to hear on how this would work before I can make any comments on it,” the prime minister told reporters.

“I continue to work with health experts to look at how we can encourage more and more people to get vaccinated, to get their boosters.”

He notes Quebec has assured the federal government its proposal will respect the Canada Health Act.

He says his government has been clear at the federal level about how important it is to be vaccinated.

“We brought in very strong measures to ensure that travellers across the country need to be fully vaccinated, people coming into the country need to be fully vaccinated, and that the federal public service needs to be fully vaccinated. These are things that we have continued to move forward on because the best path forward is vaccination.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory says he is not in favour of this type of measure, saying it “takes us down a road that is very challenging.”

“This would be a provincial decision, and what Quebec will do is what they think is best for the people who live in the province of Quebec,” said Tory. “I have previously indicated that this kind of approach is not best here, in the province of Ontario or in the city of Toronto, similarly to what I said about a curfew which I didn’t think was something that was applicable here.”

“I think this approach takes us down a road that is very challenging. What do you do about people who smoke who end up in the health care system, people who have substance abuse issues who end up in the health care system? So it’s just a road that we best not go down at the moment. …I think we should focus on getting people vaccinated.”

Tory says he favours using tools that have already been implemented, such as giving certain privileges like the ability to enter restaurants or going to a music venue or sporting event if you’re vaccinated.

The spread of Omicron is threatening to overrun several health systems and the military warns it may not have the medical personnel to meet the emergency requests from provinces.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday the additional fee would help cover healthcare costs, and that it would not apply to residents with a valid medical reason.

Legault says the amount of the fee has not yet been determined, but it should be “significant” enough to convince the unvaccinated to get the shot.

Related article: Quebec to charge unvaccinated a ‘significant amount’

“Right now these people, they put a very important burden on our health-care network,” Legault said of unvaccinated Quebecers. “And I think it’s normal that the majority of the population is asking that there be consequences.

“Yes, we will continue to look at spreading the use of the vaccine passport. But I think we have to go further, and I think right now, it’s a question of fairness for the 90 per cent of the population that made some sacrifices, and I think we owe them this kind of measure.”

It is the first time a government in Canada has announced a fee for people who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Trudeau continues to urge Canadians to get vaccinated, adding children aged five and up also need to be included in this effort. He notes only 45 per cent of kids five to 11 years old have gotten their shots.

“We know kids across this country, you’ve been doing the right things over these past long years. And it sucks, but you’ve been amazing and we need to keep doing everything we can to get through this,” he said, acknowledging how frustrating it has been for children who’ve had to endure challenges with schooling.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has announced the federal government will extend the deadline for businesses to repay loans they accepted from the Canada Emergency Business Account. They now have until the end of 2023 to do so.

With files from CityNews Montreal, CityNews Toronto and The Canadian Press