More Quebecers getting first dose since vaccine passport announced: health minister

MONTREAL -

While more Quebecers are rushing to get their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine after the government announced it will impose a vaccine passport system starting Sept. 1, the province is also facing a growing backlash regarding the new measure.

More than a hundred people protested Thursday in front of La Cage, a sports bar and restaurant in Quebec City that was part of a pilot project for the vaccine passport. And an anti-passport rally is set to be held Saturday in Montreal, with organizers predicting a large crowd.

The two-day trial run began Wednesday at La Cage after Quebec announced its decision to impose the passport software across the province in September. The passport will be used in settings with a high degree of contacts, such as festivals, bars, restaurants and gyms.

Marjorie Larouche, a spokeswoman from Quebec's Health Department, said in an interview that most clients seemed to be satisfied with the new policy tested at La Cage, though some members of the public voiced their opposition.

"People are allowed to express their concerns and to protest," Larouche said, adding that the protests are troubling to see. She could not comment on whether the province is helping businesses taking part in the pilot project with security. In addition to La Cage, a Montreal bar and a Laval gym have signed on to participate in the test run.

David Pelletier, a spokesman for the Quebec City police, said Thursday's protest did not lead to any arrests. "The protest didn't have any major outburst," he said. "It was over by 8:30 p.m."

For Martin Vezina, a spokesman for the restaurant industry group Association Restauration Quebec, Thursday's protest reflected a tendency among conspiracy theorists to attack the restaurant industry.

"We didn't wake up one morning and decide we were going to impose a proof of vaccination," Vezina said. "And our members can't disobey the government's new policy because clients are unsatisfied. We will pay the price, not them."

Vezina said he is nervous about the pressure and backlash staff and owners might have to face this fall.

"Who's going to be at the front line, checking the passport, when we are already dealing with a labour shortage?" he asked. "Who is going to handle people who don't want to comply? We are talking about staff made up of young people. There is a lot of stress around this."

Athletica Lac-Brome gym owner Alain Gauthier knows about the kind of backlash business owners can face. He said in an interview on Friday that he's been receiving hate messages after independently posting a "mandatory vaccine" sign Aug. 4 in front of his gym in Knowlton, Que.

"I got messages saying the gym is filled with black mould, people hoping the place burns to the ground, accusing me of being a fascist, a communist," Gauthier said. "It was kind of nuts."

He said he hopes the mandatory vaccine passport system will relieve some of the pressure.

"I don't want to know what size of underwear you are wearing, about your personal life, your bra size," he said. "I just want to know if you are safe enough to be here or not."

Health Minister Christian Dube said on Friday more people are getting their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine since Quebec unveiled its vaccine passport plan this week. He said in a tweet that a steadily increasing number of people got their first doses in the last three days, for a total of 26,000.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 case numbers continued to climb in the province, with health authorities reporting 426 new cases Friday. No new deaths were attributed to the novel coronavirus, and the number of patients requiring hospitalization declined by one, to 80, with one less patient in intensive care, for a total of 27.

The province says it administered 47,771 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the previous 24 hours, for a total of 11,665,257 since the launch of the vaccination campaign.

About 73 per cent of Quebecers over 12 are now considered adequately vaccinated.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 13, 2021.