Alberta premier says he won't follow Quebec plan to levy fee on COVID-19 unvaccinated
CBC
Premier Jason Kenney says Alberta will not be following Quebec's plan to impose a financial penalty on those who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kenney says data shows the unvaccinated are proving to be a vastly greater burden on the hospital system than the vaccinated, but making them pay extra would not be fair.
"If we go down that road, we are completely rubbishing the whole principle of universality of health care, which is why Alberta absolutely will not follow the decision of Quebec," Kenney said Tuesday night in a Facebook town-hall meeting.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault had announced earlier in the day that he plans to make unvaccinated adult residents pay a "significant" financial penalty, given that they are occupying a disproportionate number of beds in hospitals.
Kenney conceded the unvaccinated are taking up far more hospital and intensive care beds, which has led to a domino effect of cancelled surgeries as health workers are reassigned to deal with the pandemic.
But he said levying a fee would be akin to making a smoker pay more for lung cancer treatment or charging a high-risk skier for being injured and airlifted out of the back country.
"There is a larger and deeper principle here, which is we have a universal health-care system," the premier said.
"It doesn't matter where you come from, how old you are, what your medical condition is, how wealthy you are, or what life choices you've made. You are guaranteed access to our health-care system, free of cost, for medically necessary services."
Watch: No health tax for Alberta, Jason Kenney says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking in Ottawa, said he wants to see more details before passing judgment on Quebec's plan, but added the province has given assurances that it won't violate the Canada Health Act.
Alberta, as with other jurisdictions worldwide, is fighting a rapid, spiralling rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Kenney's United Conservative government sharply slashed attendance at public events before Christmas and vaccine passports are still necessary to get into non-essential businesses, including bars and restaurants.
Students from kindergarten to Grade 12 were sent back to class this week after Kenney promised extra masks and millions more rapid-tests for schools.
WATCH: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to Quebec's pitch for a tax on the unvaccinated
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.