Quebec Premier, Francois Legault, has announced plans to introduce a tax on adults that decline to get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus for non-medical reasons. He has termed it a ‘consequence’ for those that were placing an important burden on the healthcare network.
The province has been hard hit by the pandemic, recording the highest rate of infections and hospitalizations in the country. Thus far, Quebec has reported 766,927 infections, with over 12,000 deaths. It has also administered almost 16 million doses of Covid vaccines, with at least 84.9% of the population having received at least one dose. Though an estimated 10% of the population is unvaccinated, they account for about half of the intensive care admissions.
This plan to tax the unvaccinated has however not received widespread support. University of Montreal’s Professor Vardit Ravitsky has expressed concern that this move will create further inequities brought on by the pandemic. She noted that if the tax is applied as a flat fee, it would add more strain to marginalized communities already stressed by the situation.
She also doubted that the tax would alter the behaviour of hardcore anti-vaxxers, especially given that many social and commercial activities were still accessible to even those that were unvaccinated. Professor Ravitsky urged the use of vaccine passports and incentivizing through public health messages.
Legault has however reiterated that there was a need to go further than just mandating vaccine passports. He justified the tax as a means to force the unvaccinated to pay the bill that all Quebecers should not have to. He did not however indicate what the exact amount would be but did say it would be a significant financial penalty.
A section of the unvaccinated population has indicated plans on social media to challenge this decision in court. Legal experts have however said it is not a clear-cut issue and that the outcome would likely be a close call if taken to court.
Though this measure would be a first in Canada, other countries have taken a similar hard line against the anti-vax segment. Singapore which has a similar universal healthcare system has said that from January 1, those that are unvaccinated by choice and end up hospitalized will be responsible for their own medical expenses. Austria has also specified its own Covid-tax that would see anyone over the age of 14 that is unvaccinated pay fines of up to $4,071 or 3,600 euros, every three months they remain unvaccinated.
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