(Quebec) The opposition deplores that the Legault government proposes that the parliamentary commission on the compulsory vaccination of health workers last only one day. The Parti Québécois has also contacted the Ethics Committee of the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) to request an update of its opinion on the subject.
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Talks between the opposition parties and the Legault government began Wednesday to define the parameters of the parliamentary committee on compulsory vaccination of health workers. Elected officials must agree on the experts and groups to be invited and the duration of the work.
According to our information, the elected CAQ members initially proposed that the consultations be held over a single day. This is far too short a deadline, it was said behind the scenes, when the issue of compulsory vaccination is “not trivial”, to use the words of the Prime Minister.
The opposition parties on Wednesday submitted their list of speakers they wish to hear during the committee. Once this list is finalized, it will be easier to estimate the time required for the work. We have also been asked to hear from the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, we learned.
The mandate of the Commission de la santé et des services sociaux must also be broadened so that it also looks at the compulsory vaccination of other government employees and teachers. A day of consultation in this context seems very thin, in the eyes of the opposition.
On Tuesday, the Parti Québécois, Québec solidaire and the Liberal Party asked the Legault government to extend the parliamentary debate to the vaccine passport. The request was not successful, we have been confirmed.
François Legault has been the subject of strong criticism from the opposition parties for not agreeing to debate the use of such a pass.
To justify his decision to discuss compulsory vaccination, Mr. Legault explained Tuesday that, unlike the vaccination passport, this new measure affects the “physical integrity” of individuals and labor rights.
To be “models”, says Legault
On the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Quebec, the first to take place in person for a long time, François Legault declared that health workers “must be models” by being vaccinated, “to convince the 15% Quebecers who have not yet gone to get their first dose ”.
“I think if there are any who should understand the importance of being double vaccinated, it is the health workers,” he said. He recalled that 90% of workers in this sector in the public network are already vaccinated.
PHOTO ERICK LABBÉ, THE SUN
François Legault, Premier of Quebec
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Mr. Legault said that the parliamentary committee consultation would make it possible to hear the health unions, who greeted with surprise and apprehension the announcement of compulsory vaccination. “We will listen to them,” he said, while inviting them to “understand that the safety of Quebecers must be put before everything else”.
The Caquist leader also said that all the elected officials of his training had received two doses of the vaccine. The three opposition parties also confirmed to Press that 100% of their deputies are fully immunized.
What about school staff?
The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, explained that the compulsory vaccination of school personnel should be discussed during the parliamentary committee, but that such an avenue was ruled out “for the moment”. He said on Wednesday that he “did[avait] not intend to go there ”.
“There is still a difference between the school network and the health network. […] There is a level of danger which is different in health than in education, when we can treat people who are vulnerable, who are, let’s suppose, in oncology. This is a significant difference, ”said Mr. Roberge.
The minister does not know either in what proportion of school personnel will be fully vaccinated at the start of the school year. Quebec, however, knows the extent of vaccination coverage for health personnel.
“This is information that can be qualified as sensitive. There are legal issues and issues of confidentiality ”, affirmed Mr. Roberge, to whom the unions of the school sector said that“ the echoes they have is that the vaccination rate is very high among teachers ”.
While Quebec has already polled childcare centers and private daycares about the idea of imposing vaccination on educators, the Minister of Families, Mathieu Lacombe, said that no decision had yet been taken. “It is a discussion that must be held within the parliamentary committee that we have announced, because it is a delicate subject and on which we want to consult,” he added.
The PQ addresses the INSPQ
The PQ member Joël Arseneau asks the Public Health Ethics Committee (CESP) of the INSPQ to update its opinion on the compulsory vaccination of health workers. In January, the Committee indicated that such a measure was not “justifiable” while it “is not always clear if the authorized vaccines prevent the transmission of the virus to users. […] ».
The CESP indicated that it could “revise its position in the event of a clear demonstration of the prevention of transmission to others or in the event of the submission of a compulsory vaccination plan for health workers by the authorities in place”.
In a letter addressed to the CESP, Joël Arseneau argues that a “new opinion, publicly filed and containing recommendations as to the need to impose vaccination on nursing staff” and on other categories of workers, such as teachers, “Would constitute an essential scientific basis” for the debate.
Demonstrations: Minister Charette “disgusted” by the wearing of the yellow star
The minister responsible for the fight against racism, Benoit Charette, is “outraged” and “disgusted” to see some demonstrators opposing health measures and the vaccine passport wearing the yellow star. On the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Ministers, he maintained that this gesture could “be associated with anti-Semitism”. “I think it is very, very little known about our history to make any connection between the repeated and organized assaults on the Jews during World War II and the efforts to protect the population that the we have been putting forward for a year and a half, he said. It is not only misunderstanding our history, it is a direct affront to our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith. ”
Tommy Chouinard, Press
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97% of Urgences-santé paramedics vaccinated in Montreal and Laval
Urgences-santé employees have massively adhered to the vaccination: 97% of the organization’s paramedics responding to emergency calls in the Montreal and Laval regions have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Of this number, 90% are adequately vaccinated, that is, they received two injections or obtained a dose of the vaccine after contracting the virus. Among all Urgences-santé employees, 88% of people are adequately vaccinated. “We are quite proud of the figures achieved,” said Urgences-santé spokesperson Stéphane Smith. Communicating and conveying information about vaccination to employees has been key to success. The public company has also made vaccination accessible to employees.
Coralie Laplante, Press
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