Quebec may soon require COVID-19 vaccine passports to access liquor and cannabis stores
The Quebec government may soon require people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before buying alcohol at the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) or cannabis products at the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC).
"If the government goes in this direction, we will apply this sanitary measure -- as we have done with all other efforts deployed since the beginning of the pandemic," said SAQ spokesperson Yann Langlais Plante.
He notes the government has not issued an official decree, but confirms that the Crown corporations have been in talks with officials on the subject.
This would be the latest in a series of moves to slow transmission of COVID-19 -- and the highly contagious Omicron variant in particular.
Nevertheless, the measure comes a little too late, according to infectious diseases specialist Dr. Matthew Oughton.
"It's analogous to trying to put out a raging forest fire with a glass of water," he said. "Unless the government has access to public health data that there have been a massive number of transmissions linked to SAQs or SQDCs, which I doubt, adding a measure like that now would not be expected to have any more than a minor impact."
Oughton points out Quebec officials had enough data early on in December "warning of Omicron," but it took weeks before any restrictions were put in place.
"That delay is now resulting in hospitalizations, ICU admission, shutdowns in elective procedures," he said.
Tuesday, Quebec reported 21 more deaths due to the virus and 14,494 new recorded cases.
The province is currently under a second COVID-19 related curfew, starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 5 a.m. each day.
In addition, in-home gatherings have been prohibited.
Bars, casinos, restaurant dining rooms and more are closed and non-essential services cannot open on Sundays.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.