Quebec College of Physicians calls for stricter measures for the unvaccinated
The Quebec College of Physicians is urging the government to "speed up the pace of implementing measures to limit the number of contacts with unvaccinated people."
College president Dr. Mauril Gaudreault affirmed his support for the future obligation of a third dose to hold a vaccine passport, writing in a letter published Friday that its arrival "must be done more quickly and "cover a wide range of businesses and public places."
On Thursday, Minister of Health Christian Dubé announced that proof of vaccination will be necessary to make purchases at the SAQ and the SQDC from Jan. 18. He also warned that he planned to "add non-essential services or businesses, such as personal care" to this list.
The minister's office was keen to point out that the provincial government "announced several very important measures to limit contacts: closing of restaurants and bars, postponement of the start of the school year to Jan. 17, no indoor gatherings except for a few exceptions, curfew."
His federal counterpart, Jean-Yves Duclos, went even further on Friday, designating a potential mandatory vaccination as "the only way out" of the health crisis. However, it is the provinces that can make such a decision.
"The vaccinated population can no longer suffer in silence the constraints of health measures while the unvaccinated occupy one in two acute care beds and the majority of intensive care beds," he said. "The overload of hospitalizations and offloading deprives thousands and thousands of patients of surgery that is constantly postponed, in some cases further deteriorating their health status."
He added that "the INESSS (Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux) projects more than 3,000 hospitalizations in the coming weeks, including 400 in intensive care, and that the network has lost 20,000 of its workers.
The doctor would like to see the vaccination campaign for the third dose accelerated, a wish that could be granted, as about 200 members of the Canadian Armed Forces are being deployed to support the vaccinators.
However, he called on physicians to mobilize to help out in the vaccination centers, as they did in the spring.
BETTER COMMUNICATION
Gaudreault also criticized the provincial government for its lack of clarity in communicating with the public.
"Messages about screening, rapid tests or isolation are currently confusing," he said, stressing "the need for more transparent and consistent communication."
He criticized officials for not announcing all new measures at news conferences, saying that some information is not made public until the next day, through newspapers.
Last week, when the government decided that children and daycare staff would no longer have to isolate themselves from their group if they had been in contact with an infected person, the directive was sent directly to the daycare services, without being announced in the news briefing of the same day. This measure was finally cancelled last Tuesday.
Dubé's office replied that "the government holds several press briefings each week, in addition to technical briefings for journalists. We are transparent with Quebecers," it concluded.
'WORRISOME' MEASURES
The current tightening of measures is "worrisome, because it's always more and more infringing on rights and freedoms," said Catherine Descoteaux, coordinator of the Ligue des droits et libertés, in a telephone interview.
"To a certain extent, it's okay for the government to infringe on rights and freedoms when necessary," she said, "but it's up to the government to demonstrate the necessity of those infringements."
While she does not entirely rule out the possibility of expanding the scope of the vaccine passport, she would like such decisions to be made only after deliberations in the National Assembly, when all MNAs have all the information in hand. There must be some scrutiny from the opposition," she said, "that's how a democracy works."
"When we were in March 2020, it was more understandable" for the government to do this, she said, as there was no time to deliberate. But after two years of the pandemic, "you start to see the hits coming" in advance, she said, recalling that the INESSS had predicted the meteoric rise in cases as early as mid-December.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 8, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.