Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds COVID-19 news conference
BNN Bloomberg
Watch live: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face questions about Quebec's unprecedented plan to tax adult residents who refuse to be vaccinated when he and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos hold a pandemic briefing this morning in Ottawa.
Watch live: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face questions about Quebec's unprecedented plan to tax adult residents who refuse to be vaccinated when he and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos hold a pandemic briefing this morning in Ottawa.
Earlier story follows.
With COVID-19 cases putting Canada's hospitals at or near capacity, Quebec's unprecedented plan to tax adult residents who refuse to be vaccinated is coming under fire.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association says the tax plan is deeply troubling, noting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes individual autonomy over our bodies and medical decisions.
In an emailed statement Tuesday night, Cara Zwibel, acting general counsel for the association, says the tax penalty is a divisive measure that will end up punishing and alienating those who may be most in need of public health supports and services.
She says Quebec Premier Francois Legault's government should abandon what she calls a "constitutionally vulnerable proposal." Quebec reported 2,742 COVID-related hospitalizations Tuesday, with 255 patients in intensive care, along with another 62 deaths.
