The 10% of Quebecers, who have not yet received a dose of vaccine, should not “harm” the 90% who do, he said.
“It is not up to all Quebecers to pay for that,” he said during a press conference, and specified that the government of the French-speaking province wants the tax to represent a “significant amount.”
“I feel some discontent with the unvaccinated minority that, all things considered, obstructs our hospitals,” he said.
The Quebec Prime Minister explained that this 10% of unvaccinated adults represents 50% of people in intensive care, describing the situation as “shocking”.
In an attempt to stem the new wave, Quebec on December 30 announced the return of certain restrictions, including a 10 p.m. curfew and a ban on private gatherings.
In total, 2,742 people with covid are hospitalized and about 255 people are in intensive care in Quebec, which has about 8 million inhabitants.
Hospitalizations also continue to rise in neighboring Ontario province, Canada’s most populous, with 3,220 people hospitalized and 477 people in intensive care.