Category: Quebec

Bank Economist Criticizes Quebec’s COVID Measures as They Eat at GDP

Quebec’s restrictive policies on COVID-19 are being criticized in a special report on economics and strategy issued by the National Bank of Canada on Jan. 17. “We’ve been receiving calls from more and more foreign institutional clients wondering ‘What’s going in Quebec?’” writes the bank’s chief economist and strategist Stéfane Marion. Marion says the question is…


Quebec Anti Corruption Police Investigating Fake COVID 19 Vaccine Passports

MONTREAL—Quebec’s anti-corruption unit says it is carrying out a “large-scale” investigation into cases of alleged fraud related to the production and sale of false COVID-19 vaccine passports. The police force, known as UPAC, warned that people who produce, sell or use false COVID-19 vaccination documents could face criminal charges, including breach of trust and corruption,…


O’Toole and Singh Oppose Quebec’s Tax on the Unvaccinated

Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh have said this week they oppose Quebec’s planned financial penalty on those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, citing the need to preserve the universality of the health care system. “Our health care system is universal, it’s for everybody, and I think it’s unjust to…


Another Snow Day for Toronto Kids, Prairie Provinces Brace for Storms, Ice and Snow

A snowstorm that closed schools in parts of southern Ontario and Quebec on Monday will keep many of them dark for another day, while some parts of the Prairies that were already hit with freezing rain are now contending with plunging temperatures and snow. Several boards in the Toronto area, like the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District…


Quebec Will Backtrack on Unvax Tax: Provincial Liberal Health Critic

Quebec’s Liberal party opposition says it believes the government’s plan to tax adults who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will soon be reversed. Liberal health critic Monsef Derraji says he expects the idea will be abandoned the same way the province backtracked on its plan to force health care workers to get vaccinated or…


Environment Canada Warns Winter Storms Headed for Southern Ontario and Quebec

OTTAWA—Environment Canada is warning residents of southern Ontario and Quebec to brace for a winter storm, prompting some school boards to revisit their plans to reopen classrooms Monday. The federal forecaster says a low-pressure system around the Great Lakes could dump snow on parts of Ontario starting Sunday night, while a storm brewing in the…


‘Discriminatory and Wrong’: Conservative Leaders Oppose Quebec’s Proposed Tax on the Unvaccinated

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he is opposed to Quebec’s plan to tax residents who refuse COVID-19 vaccination, while other Conservative politicians are also speaking out against the controversial penalty. O’Toole stated his position on Quebec Premier François Legault’s proposal during a Facebook Live event on Jan. 13, calling it unfair and predicting that it won’t…


Legault’s ‘Unvaxxed Tax’ Escalates Scapegoating of the Unvaccinated

Commentary The latest news in the increasingly bizarre world created by the politicians in response to COVID-19 is that Québec Premier François Legault has decided to impose a health-care surcharge on people who do not get vaccinated. The ostensible rationale behind the surcharge is that, in the premier’s words, “the vaccine is the key to…


Legault’s ‘Unvaxxed Tax’ Is Really About Scapegoating the Unvaccinated to Deflect From Failures

Commentary The latest news in the increasingly bizarre world created by the politicians in response to COVID-19 is that Québec Premier François Legault has decided to impose a health-care surcharge on people who do not get vaccinated. The ostensible rationale behind the surcharge is that, in the premier’s words, “the vaccine is the key to…


Quebec Man’s Visitation Rights With Child Suspended by Judge for Not Being Vaccinated

A Quebec man has lost his child visitation rights after a Superior Court judge issued a temporary suspension on him, on grounds that he is not vaccinated and appears to oppose the province’s COVD-19 public health measures. “It would normally be in the best interest of the child to have contact with his father, but…