Mandatory vaccinations in Quebec health-care sector coming, vaccine passport exemptions given to two groups
Quebec's Health Minister Christian Dube said Tuesday that mandatory vaccinations are coming for health-care workers, and the Health Ministry (MSSS) will grant vaccine passport rule exemptions for certain people in the province who have not been double-vaccinated with the approved COVID-19 vaccines.
"We'll watch how it goes, and we will adjust as we go," Dube said in a news conference on Tuesday.
He said details will be revealed later in the week.
Director of public health Horacio Arruda said his office is taking in information from all relevant stakeholders in the industry before launching the plan.
"The devil is in the details in the precision that we have to bring to everything," said Arruda.
VACCINATION PASSPORT EXEMPTIONS
The ministry said that those who participated in the local Medicago vaccine trial and those "with contraindications to vaccination against COVID-19" will not be penalized when the VaxiCode passport system goes into effect tomorrow.
"People with contraindications to vaccination against COVID 19, including those who meet the conditions described in the Quebec Immunization Protocol, will be able to obtain a vaccine passport," the ministry said in a news release.
Those with contraindications must receive a note from a doctor and present it at a vaccination centre to fall into this category. They can then register at the Clic Sante site under the new option.
Those around 300 people who signed up for the Medicago study will also be able to obtain a QR code that can be used as a passport.
In addition, Quebec's ministry said it is working with other provinces and the federal government to automate devices so they can read QR codes from out of province.
"In the meantime, it should be noted that people from other provinces or countries will be able to present official proof of vaccination issued by the province or country of residence, as well as proof of identity with an address outside Quebec, to gain access to the places and activities covered by the rollout of the vaccine passport," the release reads.
VACCINE PASSPORT INSPECTORS
The Health Minister said he hopes there will not be a need for vaccine passport inspectors, but that businesses and citizens will be fined if they do not respect health measures.
"The vaccination passport is one of those rules," said Dube.
He said police will be responsible for handing out fines much like with mask and distancing mandates.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Nicki Minaj's England concert postponed after rapper was detained by Dutch authorities over pot
Nicki Minaj's concert in Manchester scheduled for Saturday night was postponed after police in the Netherlands discovered marijuana in her bags as she was preparing to leave the country.
1 dead, 3 in hospital after flying wheel crashes into bus windshield on QEW
A man is dead, and three others are in hospital after a flying wheel crashed into a coach bus on the QEW in St. Catharines.