Quebec Premier Francois Legault (right) after announcing a financial penalty for unvaccinated adults on Jan. 11, 2022. (The Canadian Press)

By Derek Craddock

ANTI-VAX TAX

Sask. professor weighs in on Quebec’s anti-vax tax

Jan 13, 2022 | 8:00 AM

It’s being called unprecedented, controversial, and a possible infringement on constitutional rights.

Earlier this week, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced his province would introduce a “health tax” on all adults who refuse to get the COVID-19 without a valid medical exemption.

During his announcement, Legault said unvaccinated residents are taking up a disproportionate number of hospital beds and should be required to pay an additional contribution to the health care system.

More details on the levy will be released in the coming weeks with Legault saying the fees will be significant.

Reaction to the bold move is coming in from across the country, including Saskatchewan.

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Dr. Cheryl Camillo is an assistant professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina, specializing in health policy and North American politics.

She said she understands the frustration on the proposed tax and why it is being implemented but doesn’t believe it’s the right choice.

“I think it’s inefficient. It’s indirect. And it’s a violation of the principles of our health system.”

She added there has been a history of provinces imposing “premiums” in their health plans under the Canada Health Act but user fees are contrary to that very act.

Meanwhile, the prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation agrees that adding a tax to solve a health care crisis is the wrong approach.

“I don’t think we’re going to tax our way out of a pandemic. We need to come up with a better plan than this one,” said Todd McKay.

Last year, some provinces introduced incentives for those to get the COVID-19 shot, including Alberta’s Open For Summer vaccine lottery. Similar lotteries were held in Quebec and for members of the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan.

Those, however, were offered before the Omicron variant swept into Canada, pushing case numbers higher and infecting vaccinated and unvaccinated alike.

This time around, Camillo says policies could be introduced that help influence and incentivize healthy behaviour or restrict poor behaviour.

“The perfect parallel here is a smoking ban, which all provinces in Canada have implemented broadly, including in private workplaces. I think we need to take those policy approaches, which have proven to be effective. They’re more direct. That ban exists in a workplace every day, whereas a premium that’s charged as part of a tax might be imposed on a monthly or annual basis.”

She warned policies that require a tax or fee for health care choices is similar to another model she said many in Canada don’t want to adopt.

“The type of approach where you’re charging, essentially, a premium to people based on their health history or health behaviours is akin to the American approach of charging more for health insurance based on your risk. And having worked for a long time in that health system, including as a policymaker and someone running health insurance programs, I don’t think Canada wants to go there.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @pa_craddock