Reacting on Wednesday to the Quebec government’s plan to impose an “anti-vax tax” on those who are continuing to refuse to be inoculated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa is looking at the proposal “with interest,” although “there are a lot more details that we have to hear on how this would work.”
“But I will remind people that we have been clear at the federal level about how important it is to get vaccinated,” Trudeau said during a national phone-in press conference during which he delivered an update on the federal government’s ongoing efforts to control the Covid pandemic.
Trudeau lambasted Erin O’Toole, the leader of the Conservative opposition in the House of Commons, over the nature of the debate Trudeau said was being driven by the Conservatives. “The best path forward is vaccination,” he said.
“Which is why at the federal level, there is still a debate being brought forward by the Conservative Party saying that we need to be more accommodating of people who choose not to get vaccinated, [which] is I think exactly the wrong thing.
“Mr. O’Toole is out to try to protect his own leadership and he’s not thinking about protecting the health care workers who are on the front line.
“We know very different jurisdictions are making different decisions about how to encourage people to get vaccinated. The federal government will be continuing to be there to support them in those decisions and to make sure that everyone gets vaccinated.”
