… no one ever said freedom was free. There’s a cost to ignorance.
Quebec plans to impose a ‘health contribution’ tax on the unvaccinated
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/11/quebec-health-…
intercst
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The CDC has now raised the Covid-19 threat level to a 4 for the country of Canada. They are cautioning against travel to this country.
We were really hoping for this c#$p to be over in time for a summer trip to visit our northern neighbors.
OTFoolish.
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… no one ever said freedom was free. There’s a cost to ignorance.
Quebec plans to impose a ‘health contribution’ tax on the unvaccinated
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/11/quebec-health-……
intercst
While my first thought was to agree with the Premier … second one as well, there is some question as to the legalities involved. The Premier’s own actions with opening up and closing down often on very short notice (politics?) without following the science have contributed to Quebec’s problems.
Another problem is that many of the unvaccinated are recent immigrants or from relatively poor segments of the population some of whom would be hard hit by such actions? While the provinces have a lot of say on how they implement their version of our single payer system the Feds still chip in much of the funding giving them a certain amount of oversight power. To the best of my knowledge this is new legal ground and will get tested.
Quebec has roughly 10% of the population unvaccinated and other provinces will be watching closely.
Nova Scotia has a similar number but they represent 82.5% of our COVID cases.
Tim <no easy answers?>
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/204d6ed723244dfbb76…
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It’s worth visiting the front page of Montreal’s English language newspaper–the Montreal Gazette–on this.
Some relevant headlines:
'We're very close to a point of no return,' Dubé says of Quebec hospitals
Appointments for first dose jump after Quebec announces 'anti-vax tax'
Brownstein: Will a tax move the unvaxxed? Don't bet on it
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Brownstein: Will a tax move the unvaxxed? Don’t bet on it
The unvaxxed may not choose to get vaxxed, but they can’t avoid the consequences of their choice. One of those consequences is death, and they have not stated how they will avoid the costs associated with that more-likely outcome.
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Good idea!! I’m for it. If it helps cover the cost of the additional hospitalizations its a plus. If it encourages more to get vaccinated its a plus.
I assume vaccinations are free to all in Canada as they are in the states. Vaccination is not a cost issue.
I don’t see any negatives. I would exempt only those with good medical reason not to be vaccinated.
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Good idea!! I’m for it. If it helps cover the cost of the additional hospitalizations its a plus. If it encourages more to get vaccinated its a plus.
I assume vaccinations are free to all in Canada as they are in the states. Vaccination is not a cost issue.
I don’t see any negatives. I would exempt only those with good medical reason not to be vaccinated.
This guy has questions, but he is not outright condemning the plan … especially since it appears to be working in spite of not being in effect yet. Lots of unvaccinated people in Quebec are booking appoints since the announcement.
Anymouse <one 11 yo granddaughter in Halifax left to help get a booking to be fully vaccinated … but can’t do it before 27 Jan … grandma is on the case checking the openings site regularly … they are up to 26 Jan with available bookings>
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/pm-needs-more-info-on-…
The Canadian Press
PM needs more info on Quebec’s no-vax tax, Ottawa struggles to deliver rapid tests
12 hrs ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he needs more information before he can say whether he supports Quebec’s anti-vaccination tax, …
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he needs more information before he can say whether he supports Quebec’s anti-vaccination tax, …
I would ask him if he really, really needs to answer that question before they see the actual consequences.
(One advantage to have multiple largely-independent subdivisions is that they can try different things, watch each other, copy what works while fine-tuning it to their own varying circumstances. But this takes TIME - you have to give these experiments a chance to work or to fail. In the meantime, unless there are obvious logical, logistical, or moral problems, the head of the federal government probably should remain somewhat noncommittal.)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he needs more information before he can say whether he supports Quebec’s anti-vaccination tax, …
I would ask him if he really, really needs to answer that question before they see the actual consequences.
We have substantial information about the hospitalization rates of the vaccinated vs the unvaccinated.
Given that Canada has national health care which is, by definition, supported by taxes, I think there’s plenty of information to justify an additional tax on people who won’t take the simplest step to reduce their risk.
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