Rights group denounces lack of consultation on Quebec's vaccine passport

Montreal -

The Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL) has denounced the decision of François Legault's government "to introduce a vaccine passport without public debate."

"We need the government to start a dialogue with the population," said Catherine Descoteaux, coordinator of the LDL, in a telephone interview. "We really want this transparency, we want nuances."

"All health measures necessary to fight the pandemic, as legitimate as they may be, must be debated in order to be validated, rather than being decided in an opaque and unilateral manner," the press release stated.

• Read more: Quebec expected to reveal details of vaccine passport on Tuesday
• CTV Montreal will carry the news conference live at montreal.ctvnews.ca

Descoteaux recalled that even if her organization is "pro-health measures" and could possibly "agree" with the application of the vaccine passport under certain conditions, this does not prevent her from expressing fears about possible abuses.

For the time being, it is expected that the passport will only be used in the event of an outbreak in a given region. This may be acceptable, but "it really needs to be restricted and there needs to be assurances that it will remain restricted" and not become "an identity card that can be checked by multiple people in different contexts."

"We also have concerns about the security of the data," added Descoteaux, who hopes the government will pay attention to this issue and use a good encryption system.

The proof of vaccination against COVID-19, a document currently distributed by the Quebec government, uses a QR code in its electronic version, which has been deemed insecure by many experts. The form that the vaccine passport will take is still unknown.

The LDL also expressed reservations about "the lack of clarity regarding the continuation of other proven, preventive health measures such as masking, hand washing, and the addition of ventilation in schools."

"One thing that bothers us right now is that the vaccine passport is being presented as if it were some kind of miracle solution," said Descoteaux, who wants to avoid "creating a false sense of security in the population" when herd immunity has not yet been achieved in Quebec.

At the beginning of the pandemic, public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda had expressed similar reservations about wearing face coverings, before turning around and recommending it to Quebecers.

Quebecers will likely know more about the vaccine passport at a news conference on Tuesday.

Asked to respond to the LDL release, the Ministry of Health and Social Services said Monday by email: "The MSSS is not conducting an interview on the subject at this time. The Minister of Health will provide an update tomorrow."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 9, 2021. 

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This article was produced with financial support from Facebook and The Canadian Press News Fellowships.