Canada’s Quebec rescinded its controversial plan to impose a tax on residents who were not vaccinated against Covid-19, the province's premier announced on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Premier François Legault adopted a conciliatory approach, and sought to paper over the divisions the so-called “Vax Tax” had created.
Legault, who was speaking in French, said it was “time to time to rebuild bridges between Quebecers” and “to work together”.
“My role is to try and bring Quebecers together and stay united as a people. This is why we won’t go ahead with the health contribution,” he said, according to a report by Global News.
Legault had mooted the proposal in January.
{{/usCountry}}Legault had mooted the proposal in January.
{{/usCountry}}The provincial premier did not mention the ongoing truckers’ protests that has laid siege to Canada’s capital, Ottawa. However, his government is not the only one to relax restrictions since the Freedom Convoy rolled into Ottawa on Friday. The provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan are also looking at lifting some restrictions.
The House of Commons on Tuesday adopted, by unanimous consent, a series of resolutions condemning the protesters. Among them was a motion “condemning the display of racist flags in Ottawa this past weekend”, referring to instances of some participants carrying the Nazi flag. There were also reports of some protesters desecrating landmarks like the National War Memorial.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used those motions to launch another attack on the protesters, as he tweeted, “Today in the House, Members of Parliament unanimously condemned the antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia that we’ve seen on display in Ottawa over the past number of days. Together, let’s keep working to make Canada more inclusive.”
The Ottawa police service acted against two people associated with the protests. It said it had charged Matthew Dorken of Ottawa over “mischief to property” on Saturday.
“He was not arrested at the time in order to avoid a larger confrontation,” the police said.
It also charged another Ottawa resident Andre Lacasse with carrying a weapon to a public meeting. Police said there were 13 active investigations, some “progression” into the probe into the desecration of the War Monument, and a reduction in demonstrators.
However, the protesters have yet to announce any plans to vacate the city and end their agitation. In fact, their online fundraiser to support the protests has now collected nearly CAN$10 million.