Montreal patient advocate in favour of mandatory vaccines as ICUs fill up
On Saturday, St. Mary's Hospital Centre reported three ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19.
Around the same time, the Lakeshore General Hospital temporarily closed two of its operating rooms, citing a spike in hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
This past weekend, the average age of ICU patients hovered around 40.
With all this in mind, one Montreal lawyer and patient advocate says it's time for some extreme measures.
"The government has the power to order everyone to get vaccinated. Why? Because we want to save the system," said Paul Brunet.
According to Brunet, anyone who views mandatory vaccines as a violation of human rights should look at arguments made over seatbelt legislation in the 1990s.
“If you’re not fixed to your seat and there’s someone else in the car, you can become a projectile and harm someone else. That’s the point — as soon as you may harm someone else, that’s where public interest comes in.”
Some locals, like student Rami Ghoudi, say making vaccines mandatory isn't a bad idea.
“I think that’s fine given what’s going on with COVID," he said.
But Ghoudi thinks it's too soon to make any kind of concrete decision.
“If it doesn’t work, maybe forcing can be an option. But we should spend more time, more research on educating everyone to get vaccinated as opposed to imposing a mandate.”
Epidemiological expert Dr. Christopher Labos echoed that sentiment, saying most unvaccinated people aren't "anti-vaxxers" — they're just waiting for more data.
“People are being vaccinated every day, so there is clearly still room to grow," he said. "As people realize that they have to be vaccinated to enjoy non-essential services, more and more people will get vaccinated."
He says vaccine mandates can be beneficial, as we have already seen with healthcare workers and some schools.
But as Delta cases continue to rise, many wonder when enforcing COVID-19 vaccines should come into play.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.