Thousands attend anti-passport protest; some health-care workers among them

MONTREAL -

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Maisonneuve Park on Aug. 28 in protest of numerous COVID-19 restrictions — and some health-care workers were among the ranks.

The protest, called “Professionals United,” was arranged by Reinfo Quebec, a group which describes itself as a collective of “caregivers, physicians and citizens” concerned with the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the website.

Although a number of healthcare workers attended the protest, the majority of demonstrators fell beneath the citizen category.

The protest’s main area of focus was vaccine passports, but other issues were covered as as well. Marching along Sherbrooke St., some demonstrators sported signs with anti-vaccine slogans, while others protested the enforcement of masks in schools.

“Science is the art of debating. It’s the art of asking questions,” said demonstrator Dr. Robert Beliveau, a Reinfo Covid representative and retired physician. “There are very few things that should be ‘that’s the truth.’”

But not all physicians agree. Cardiologist Dr. Christopher Labos, who did not attend the protest and is not affiliated with Reinfo Quebec, says that while debate is an essential component of science, hard facts cannot be ignored.

“At some point, that debate has to end. And usually that happens when you have firm data,” he said. “People who want to debate these issues usually just want to disregard the evidence that they don’t agree with.”

The vaccine passport will come into effect Sept. 1.