In his letter of January 12, Hubert Rioux vigorously celebrates the methods employed by the Quebec government to manage the pandemic, denouncing at the same time a pseudo “individualistic thought” which would explain, according to him, the dissent expressed in the face of health measures, in particular regarding their impact on human rights.
The real portrait of unvaccinated people is not that which we are generally depicted. We are also talking about people who are homeless, without status, living with a mental health problem, isolated, illiterate or who speak neither French nor English. By advocating measures that specifically target these people, Mr. Rioux and so many other people are falling precisely into the trap of the Quebec government: these people are turning their heads away from looking at the whole problem.
The hospital system is not only saturated due to the hospitalization of unvaccinated people. It is saturated because, for thirty years, neoliberal governments have axed the budget of the health system and the working conditions of its workers. It is saturated because, since 2015, the public health department has suffered significant budget cuts which have prevented it and which still prevent it from predicting the blows. Causes and consequences should not be confused.
False individualistic conception
Rights and freedoms are currently the subject of profound misunderstanding in the public sphere. Often erroneously defined as “individual” rights and opposed to so-called “collective” rights which would be those of the “majority”, they regularly undergo unfounded attacks. Indeed, if it is true that each person is entitled to his or her rights, it is important to remember that these very often require methods of collective implementation. And this is as true for justice as it is for health.
This means that the government has a duty to ensure that the rights and freedoms of the entire population are respected and taken into account when making decisions. And in the COVID context, the rights of vulnerable and marginalized people must receive special attention in order to avoid discrimination and exclusion when adopting new policies or directives.
Since March 2020, Quebec has been plunged into a state of health emergency to which the government is clinging. Decisions made in this context smash the demand for and respect for human rights, denounced as “pure[s] caprice[s] and “self-centered fads.”
The Rule of Law didn’t catch COVID and she’s not in quarantine. Trivializing it promises us a dark future.