Liberal leader Dominique Anglade believes that the vaccination effort is close to reaching its limit and that it is certainly not a health tax that will cause the unvaccinated to change their minds.
Passing through Longueuil on Monday, where she was campaigning alongside her candidate in Marie-Victorin, Émilie Nollet, Ms. Anglade argued that the effort had indeed reached the target initially set by public health. “Initially, when we started the vaccination, what did we say? We said that when we get to 85% to 90%, it will have been a great success. We are above 90% today. »
“At some point, you have to say that — I’ve read a lot about what public health people say about people who are unvaccinated — it’s not [la taxe santé] who’s going to make sure they’re going to get vaccinated. On the contrary, you risk having the opposite effect. In the end, it’s just a tax on a certain number of individuals who will pay more to have access to a health system, ”she argued.
Ms. Anglade acknowledged that the resistance of the unvaccinated hurts “people who have made the effort, who have followed the rules, who have been vaccinated, people who work in the health sector”, but she recalled that universal accessibility to the health care system is a value to which Quebecers are attached. “It’s a choice we made here in Quebec a long time ago and I want it, first and foremost. »
stop dividing
She reiterated her concerns about such an ethical, legal, enforcement and effectiveness approach. “At a given time when we are not trying to seek more division, when we need to unite, I have difficulty understanding how this project is really going to meet needs. »
Speaking of division, Dominique Anglade did not hide his discomfort with the demonstration of truckers and other protesters in Ottawa, pointing out that the vast majority of truckers are vaccinated and that the movement is denied by the Canadian Trucking Alliance. “There’s a level of that that’s worrying, because you don’t want the population to divide forever. After two years in a pandemic, we need to unite and find mechanisms that will ensure that everyone will go in the same direction. »
A steep slope to climb
As for the by-election in Marie-Victorin, the date of which is not yet known, Émilie Nollet says she is ready to take up the challenge, which is daunting. A PQ stronghold since its creation, the Monteregian riding only gave the Liberals fourth place in the 2018 election.
The mayoress of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, had only won by 705 votes in front of the caquiste Martyne Prévost and it was Quebec solidaire who had ranked third, ahead of the liberal Sonia Ziadé, who had collected only 15% of the voice.
“You know, there are a lot of changing trends. People are very interested in knowing who the candidate is, is the candidate consistent, is the person reliable, does the person have principles, will they turn around suddenly? “, advanced Ms. Nollet in front of the press.
Although she did not name him in making this statement, there is little doubt that she was targeting her PQ opponent, Pierre Nantel, who had been elected twice federally for the New Democratic Party before changing parties. towards the end of his second term in 2019 to align himself with the Green Party. Pierre Nantel was then defeated by Bloc Québécois Denis Trudel in the 2019 federal election, even finishing third, far behind Liberal Réjean Hébert, also a defector who had previously been Minister of Health in the PQ minority government of Pauline Marois. .
Ms. Nollet believes she can capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with the CAQ government, dissatisfaction she said she found when meeting voters in the riding.