Officials in Quebec announced a plan to tax people who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine for non-medical reasons.
“All people who are not vaccinated for non-medical reasons will have to pay a contribution,” Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday, per Just the News. While he did not say the exact amount, he assured it will be “significant.”
The announcement makes Quebec the first Canadian province to impose a financial penalty on the unvaccinated.
Legault said around 10 percent of adults in Quebec refuse to get the vaccine, and that unvaccinated individuals make up about half of the current COVID-19 hospitalizations. Thus, they should pay for the burden they are placing on the healthcare system.
“I think right now it’s a question of fairness for the 90% of the population who made some sacrifice,” he said. “I think we owe them this kind of measure.”
As omicron continues to spread, the CDC also this week raised its travel advisory for Canada to level 4 - the highest possible - and advised against travel to the country.
The CDC also advised against travel to France, Spain and Sweden.
