Legault is losing control on COVID-19, plunging Quebec into 'darkness,' says Anglade

Quebec City -

Quebec Liberal leader Dominique Anglade has some severe criticism of Premier François Legault for his handling of the fifth wave. The premier has "lost control," she said Tuesday.

In a press briefing at the National Assembly, Anglade pointed to Quebec's high mortality rate despite the imposition of unusually harsh health restrictions.

"We are far from the other Canadian provinces in terms of mortality rate," she said.

Anglade argued that Legault is trying to "hide" this loss of control by "closing the door" to an independent public inquiry, to debates in the National Assembly, to hospitals and to the economy.

By governing by "shuttering," Legault has "plunged Quebec into darkness," she said.

Most specifically, Anglade slammed Legault for having taken far too long to deploy rapid tests and the third doses of the vaccine against COVID-19.

She said, speaking in French, she feels that Quebec has been lagging "behind the parade."

The Liberal leader also pointed out that the problem of ventilation in schools still is not resolved and that CO2 detectors are not all installed.

"Under an Anglade government, we would not have found ourselves in a situation where we have strong restrictive measures, a high vaccination rate, but at the same time such catastrophic results," she said.

"That is the loss of control of François Legault," she continued.

"He hit a wall with the hospital system... We would not have found ourselves in this situation if we had managed ahead of time."

Anglade also wants Legault to make more room for scientists in his crisis unit, which is currently mainly made up of "communication" people, according to her.

Sittings in the National Assembly resume on February 1.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 18, 2022.