The first statements of offense have been issued to Quebecers in connection with the obtaining and use of false vaccine evidence against COVID-19.
These violations of the Public Health Act have been served in recent weeks on a dozen offenders, said the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC).
Last January, UPAC announced that investigations were being undertaken into various fraudulent schemes aimed at the use, manufacture or trafficking of false vaccine passports.
Fines for these offenses can vary between $1,000 and $6,000.
The vaccine passport had been required in Quebec in many public places, including stores and restaurants, from September 1, 2021 until March 14.
UPAC does not want to reveal what schemes were used by the fraudsters, but after the vaccine passport came into force, some vaccinator employees had reported being offered sums of money to claim that the vaccine had been inoculated to someone, without this being the case. The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, had made it known that these fraudulent passports would be revoked.
Many people have contacted the central denunciation of wrongdoings to report situations that have led to investigations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, reports UPAC spokesperson Mathieu Galarneau.
Other reports should be distributed over the next few weeks and months, he indicated, while 30 investigations are still in progress and more than 200 reports have already been sent to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions ( DPCP) for analysis.
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