The Trudeau government is open to the idea of deploying Canadian Armed Forces soldiers to support Quebec’s efforts to accelerate the one-dose booster vaccination campaign as the Omicron variant continues to wreak havoc in the province .
A federal source confirmed to Press that “conversations will obviously take place” between Quebec and Ottawa once the government of François Legault has submitted a formal request to this effect. For the time being, no formal request has yet been submitted by Quebec, it was indicated.
Radio-Canada reported Tuesday morning that the Quebec government took steps on Monday to get the help of the Canadian Armed Forces to increase the pace of the third dose vaccination campaign.
The Minister of Public Security has reportedly indicated that he wants to obtain as many soldiers as possible as quickly as possible.
Citing unidentified sources, Radio-Canada reported that the request was submitted on Monday. Protocol requires the federal Department of Public Safety to send the request to the Department of National Defense so that the Canadian Armed Forces can assess it and determine what resources are available.
The most likely scenario would consider a deployment of soldiers to vaccination centers in early January.
If the deployment of soldiers is confirmed, it would be the second time that the Government of Quebec has requested assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces since the start of the pandemic.
In the spring of 2020, soldiers were deployed to reinforce long-term care centers in Quebec. Their mission lasted nearly three months. They were subsequently gradually replaced by personnel from the Canadian Red Cross. In all, the Canadian Armed Forces deployed personnel to 47 long-term care centers from April to June 2020. The Red Cross was present in 89 sites from July 2020 to the end of March 2021.