Quebec opposition parties call for end of COVID-19 state of emergency

Liberal health critic Monsef Derraji said the government uses ministerial decrees too often.

Quebec’s opposition parties are accusing the government of taking too long to give up COVID-19 emergency powers and they say the delay is helping Premier François Legault and his ministers avoid scrutiny.

Earlier this week, the government renewed the state of emergency for the 99th time since March 2020. Legault told reporters the emergency order would only be lifted once a bill is passed allowing the government to keep some powers, such as the ability to impose the vaccine passport system and mask mandates.

Opposition parties, however, say the government should end the state of emergency and have a debate in the legislature about what measures should remain.

Quebec’s government has used its emergency powers to impose curfews, ban private gatherings and shutter businesses. The emergency orders have also permitted health authorities to impose mandatory overtime on nurses and to cancel health workers’ vacations.

Liberal health critic Monsef Derraji said the government uses ministerial decrees too often. So often, he said, that the government hasn’t asked the legislature to approve 30-day extensions to the state of emergency, but rather, it has used the health minister’s power to extend it 10 days at a time.

“It’s the wrong way to govern,” Derraji said in an interview Thursday.

Health Minister Christian Dubé has said he would introduce a bill in March to lift the state of emergency, but he has also said it would be up to the opposition as to whether the legislation passes before June.

Eric Duhaime, the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, which has one seat in the province’s legislature but has seen its support rise in recent polls, said he thinks the government is delaying the introduction of the bill to avoid scrutiny.