Get the jab or pay a tax. That is the simple message the premier of the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec delivered Tuesday when he warned adults who don’t get the coronavirus vaccination they will be hit with a financial penalty.
The Toronto Sun reports the penalty would be the first of its kind in Canada and would apply to unvaccinated residents without a medical exemption.
Legault told reporters in Montreal the “health contribution” is necessary because about 10 percent of adult Quebecers aren’t vaccinated, but they represent about half of all patients in intensive care.
Legault said the amount of the penalty hasn’t been decided, but will be “significant.”
“I think right now, it’s a question of fairness for the 90 percent of the population who made some sacrifices — I think we owe them this kind of measure,” Legault said, although other Canadians have vigorously disputed the national vaccine mandate.
The premier’s warning came with few details and significantly, the amount of the penalty is yet to be determined as is how and when it would be applied, the Sun outlined.
Quebec previously announced a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Quebec liquor and cannabis stores will also require proof of vaccination to enter starting Jan. 18 and the government has warned that shopping malls and hair salons could soon require vaccine passports.
Appointments for first doses jumped immediately after.
A child, age 7, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for children in Montreal, Quebec on November 24, 2021. (ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty)
Some European countries have started levying fees on their citizens who are not vaccinated, AP reports.
Austria’s health minister announced last month the government plans to impose fines of up to 3,600 euros ($4,000) on people who ignore a coronavirus vaccine mandate that it aims to introduce in February for all residents age 14 and over.
In Greece, people older than 60 have until Sunday to get their first coronavirus shots or be fined 100 euros ($113) for every month they remain unvaccinated, renewing a government push that has already drawn push back from angry Greeks.
In Italy, residents 50 and older are required to be vaccinated, and beginning in mid-February those failing to do so will face fines as high as 1,600 euros ($1,800) if they enter their workplaces.
In Germany, the city of Saarbrücken is to introduce a system of coloured wristband wearing for vaccinated and recovered individuals in order to make the process of shopping under the strict lockdown rules easier for those who are allowed to do so under the nation’s coronavirus restrictions, as Breitbart London reported.
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