Politics Briefing: Legislation on Quebec's planned tax for people who refuse to get vaccinated to be tabled in February, Legault says – The Globe and Mail
Quebec Premier François Legault says legislation on Quebec’s planned tax for people who refuse to get vaccinated will be tabled in February.
“There will be a debate at the National Assembly on the health contribution so all MLAs, all political parties will be able to vote for or against and proposing adjustments if necessary,” Mr. Legault told a news conference on Thursday in Montreal.
Earlier this week, Mr. Legault said those who refuse a COVID-19 vaccination without a valid medical exemption will face a “significant” fee that he suggested would be more than $100. He said the province is working on the details.
The Quebec government’s plan has spurred debate across Canada, with questions posed to the federal government about whether they support the idea.
On Thursday, Mr. Legault said he wanted to make it clear that his plan is not punitive.
“The intention behind the contribution is not to hurt people who are in a bad situation,” said the Premier, offering as examples the homeless or people with an illness that prevents them from getting vaccinated, or people with mental-health issues.
“What we’re saying is those people who choose not to get vaccinated, well there will be a price to pay because there is an impact on society as a whole.”
Parliamentary reporter Marieke Walsh reports here on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s reaction, on Wednesday, to news of Quebec’s plan.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
CANADA UNITES WITH MEXICO ON U.S. TRADE CHALLENGE – Canada is joining forces with Mexico to oppose how the United States is interpreting the new rules that govern duty-free cars and trucks. Story here.
SASKATCHEWAN PREMIER HAS COVID-19 – Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has tested positive for COVID-19. “I’m feeling fine, but will be self-isolating and working from home for the next five days,” Mr. Moe said in a tweet. Story here.
PANDEMIC PROMPTS SHIFT IN SENATE REOPENING – The pandemic has prompted a week-long delay in the start of Senate sittings this year, until Feb. 8, but the House of Commons will resume as scheduled on Jan. 31. Story here.
COMMONS FINANCE COMMITTEE CALLING WITNESSES ON INFLATION – The House of Commons finance committee has agreed unanimously to call on Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and banking regulator Peter Routledge, among others, to testify at hearings into the causes of high inflation, a move that will keep soaring real estate prices and the rising cost of goods at the top of the political agenda heading into the next sitting of Parliament. Story here.
PAYETTE TO KEEP APPOINTMENT – Former governor-general Julie Payette won’t lose her appointment to one of the country’s most prestigious civilian honours. Story here from CBC.
TOUCH CHOICES LOOM ON PM’S TRADITIONAL RESIDENCE – The choice around 24 Sussex Drive, designated as the official residence of the prime minister, is to spend $36.6-million to renovate the crumbling building or $40-million to tear it down and rebuild. The National Capital Commission, property manager for the federal government, has described the building as being in “critical” condition. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family live elsewhere, at Rideau Cottage on the grounds of Rideau Hall where the Governor-General lives. The Toronto Star looks here at the situation.
THIS AND THAT
The House of Commons has adjourned until Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. ET.
ETHICS COMMITTEE LOOKING FOR DATA ANSWERS – The House of Commons ethics committee has voted unanimously to invite the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada and the federal Health Minister to appear to help facilitate a study into the Public Health Agency of Canada collecting, using or possessing Canadians’ private cellphone data without their knowledge or consent. The issue is detailed in a story here and a Campbell Clark column here.
U.S. AMBASSADOR ON BEST CANADIAN BAGELS AND SOFT PRETZELS – The new U.S. ambassador to Canada said Wednesday on Twitter that he is a “very big bagel fan” and would welcome suggestions for Canadian bagels to try. “As a 50-year resident of Philadelphia, my pre-Canada favorites are fresh Everything bagels from Famous 4th Street or Schlesinger’s delis,” David Cohen – @USAmbCanada – wrote. Former federal environment minister Catherine McKenna responded, highlighting the ambassador’s challenge, and spotlighting options from a pair of Ottawa bagel retailers. Mr. Cohen, who arrived in Canada last month, has since broadened his culinary appeal: “I’m also accepting Canadian recommendations for one of my favorite great Philadelphia traditions – soft pretzels.”
THE DECIBEL – With kids heading back to classrooms after the holiday break, parents and teachers are in the spotlight of Thursday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast to hear about how they’re feeling. Plus Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious-diseases physician at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto talks about what is known about Omicron and kids so far, and the tools needed to keep transmission down in both schools and in the wider community. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
Private meetings, Ottawa. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to speak with Olusegun Obasanjo, the High Representative of the African Union Commission for the Horn of Africa.
LEADERS
No schedules released for party leaders.
OPINION
The Globe and Mail Editorial Boardon whether the unvaxxed should pay a special tax?:”On Tuesday, Quebec Premier François Legault announced a plan – okay, more of a half-cooked notion – to tax the unvaccinated. There were no details, which is why this smells more like public relations than public health. Tax The Unvaxxed looks like a bid to channel public frustration away from government and on to another target. That said, Mr. Legault picked a good target. The nine out of 10 Canadians who are vaccinated have every reason to be furious at the one in 10 who are not. They’re imposing burdens on the rest of us. Hospitalization stats – more on those in a moment – are a reminder that individual choices, good and bad, have collective consequences.”
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on how the health care accountability runaround has to end:“After this week’s first ministers’ call, a spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a statement citing a “gap” in federal funding of billions of dollars that could be used to improve health care – as if provincial authorities can’t improve the system until the feds cough up more dough. But of course they can. They can raise funds in almost all the same ways that Ottawa can, from the same taxpayer. And they can decide what needs to be funded and what doesn’t. Only provinces, not Ottawa, can make choices about how the health care system works, to make it more efficient or provide better care.”
Konrad Yakabuski (The Globe and Mail)on French President Emmanuel Macron and Quebec Premier François Legault playing politics with the unvaccinated:“Emmanuel Macron and François Legault may share the same mother tongue, but they speak very different political languages. While one wields his words like an Olympic fencer thrusts his épée, the other seeks to engage with voters in distinctly quotidian prose. One likes to flash his intellectual prowess, while the other emphasizes his common sense. Yet the French President and Quebec Premier, who are both up for re-election in 2022, have embraced similar political strategies as they fend off criticism of their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each has stooped to stigmatizing the non-vaccinated as a diversionary tactic, despite the danger inherent in pitting an exasperated majority against a misunderstood minority.”
Vaughn Palmer (The Vancouver Sun)on BC Liberals getting the kind of coverage for their leadership race that no party wants:“The B.C. Liberals were fretting that their leadership contest was being ignored by the news media, but now find themselves getting the kind of publicity that no political party wants. The provincial opposition party is facing calls to put off next month’s leadership vote pending a full-blown investigation of allegations of fraudulent memberships. At the same time, the party is being accused of singling out members from the South Asian and Chinese communities for review and audit.”
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MONTREAL – A Quebec political party has voted to support one of its members facing backlash for saying that racialized people are regularly disparaged at the provincial legislature.
Québec solidaire members adopted an emergency resolution at the party’s convention late Sunday condemning the hate directed at Haroun Bouazzi, without endorsing his comments.
Bouazzi, who represents a Montreal riding, had told a community group that he hears comments every day at the legislature that portray North African, Muslim, Black or Indigenous people as the “other,” and that paint their cultures are dangerous or inferior.
Other political parties have said Bouazzi’s remarks labelled elected officials as racists, and the co-leaders of his own party had rebuked him for his “clumsy and exaggerated” comments.
Bouazzi, who has said he never intended to describe his colleagues as racist, thanked his party for their support and for their commitment to the fight against systemic racism.
Party co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said after Sunday’s closed-door debate that he considers the matter to be closed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats who control both chambers of the Virginia legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access.
The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced three proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday, including a measure to protect reproductive rights. Its members also discussed measures to repeal a now-defunct state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and ways to revise Virginia’s process to restore voting rights for people who served time for felony crimes.
“This meeting was an important next step considering the moment in history we find ourselves in,” Democratic Del. Cia Price, the committee chair, said during a news conference. “We have urgent threats to our freedoms that could impact constituents in all of the districts we serve.”
The at-times raucous meeting will pave the way for the House and Senate to take up the resolutions early next year after lawmakers tabled the measures last January. Democrats previously said the move was standard practice, given that amendments are typically introduced in odd-numbered years. But Republican Minority Leader Todd Gilbert said Wednesday the committee should not have delved into the amendments before next year’s legislative session. He said the resolutions, particularly the abortion amendment, need further vetting.
“No one who is still serving remembers it being done in this way ever,” Gilbert said after the meeting. “Certainly not for something this important. This is as big and weighty an issue as it gets.”
The Democrats’ legislative lineup comes after Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, to the dismay of voting-rights advocates, rolled back a process to restore people’s civil rights after they completed sentences for felonies. Virginia is the only state that permanently bans anyone convicted of a felony from voting unless a governor restores their rights.
“This amendment creates a process that is bounded by transparent rules and criteria that will apply to everybody — it’s not left to the discretion of a single individual,” Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, the patron of the voting rights resolution, which passed along party lines, said at the news conference.
Though Democrats have sparred with the governor over their legislative agenda, constitutional amendments put forth by lawmakers do not require his signature, allowing the Democrat-led House and Senate to bypass Youngkin’s blessing.
Instead, the General Assembly must pass proposed amendments twice in at least two years, with a legislative election sandwiched between each statehouse session. After that, the public can vote by referendum on the issues. The cumbersome process will likely hinge upon the success of all three amendments on Democrats’ ability to preserve their edge in the House and Senate, where they hold razor-thin majorities.
It’s not the first time lawmakers have attempted to champion the three amendments. Republicans in a House subcommittee killed a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights in 2022, a year after the measure passed in a Democrat-led House. The same subcommittee also struck down legislation supporting a constitutional amendment to repeal an amendment from 2006 banning marriage equality.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted 16-5 in favor of legislation protecting same-sex marriage, with four Republicans supporting the resolution.
“To say the least, voters enacted this (amendment) in 2006, and we have had 100,000 voters a year become of voting age since then,” said Del. Mark Sickles, who sponsored the amendment as one of the first openly gay men serving in the General Assembly. “Many people have changed their opinions of this as the years have passed.”
A constitutional amendment protecting abortion previously passed the Senate in 2023 but died in a Republican-led House. On Wednesday, the amendment passed on party lines.
If successful, the resolution proposed by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring would be part of a growing trend of reproductive rights-related ballot questions given to voters. Since 2022, 18 questions have gone before voters across the U.S., and they have sided with abortion rights advocates 14 times.
The voters have approved constitutional amendments ensuring the right to abortion until fetal viability in nine states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Vermont. Voters also passed a right-to-abortion measure in Nevada in 2024, but it must be passed again in 2026 to be added to the state constitution.
As lawmakers debated the measure, roughly 18 members spoke. Mercedes Perkins, at 38 weeks pregnant, described the importance of women making decisions about their own bodies. Rhea Simon, another Virginia resident, anecdotally described how reproductive health care shaped her life.
Then all at once, more than 50 people lined up to speak against the abortion amendment.
“Let’s do the compassionate thing and care for mothers and all unborn children,” resident Sheila Furey said.
The audience gave a collective “Amen,” followed by a round of applause.
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Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.
He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.
The expected appointment was first reported by Politico Thursday.
A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations around the ingredients in foods.
With the Trump campaign, he worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, with his message of making food healthier in the U.S., promising to model regulations imposed in Europe. In a nod to Trump’s original campaign slogan, he named the effort “Make America Healthy Again.”
It remains unclear how that will square with Trump’s history of deregulation of big industries, including food. Trump pushed for fewer inspections of the meat industry, for example.
Kennedy’s stance on vaccines has also made him a controversial figure among Democrats and some Republicans, raising question about his ability to get confirmed, even in a GOP-controlled Senate. Kennedy has espoused misinformation around the safety of vaccines, including pushing a totally discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.
He also has said he would recommend removing fluoride from drinking water. The addition of the material has been cited as leading to improved dental health.
HHS has more than 80,000 employees across the country. It houses the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
