Ontario rejects tax on unvaxxed

Torontosun.com
Jan. 13, 2022

Ontario will not follow Quebec’s controversial lead and force unvaccinated individuals to pay a health tax, Premier Doug Ford says.

The provincial government would rather encourage people to get vaccinated, he said.

“We aren’t going down that road. We’re going to take a different approach,” Ford said Wednesday. “But I implore, I ask, I beg every single person that’s not vaccinated, please protect yourself, protect your family, protect coworkers, please get your vaccination. That’s the best way we can defend against Omicron or any of the variants.”

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said he has never recommended to the provincial government that a tax be imposed on the unvaccinated.

“It’s not one that we would bring forward,” Moore said Wednesday. “It does, in my mind, seem punitive.”

Ontario has tried to increase accessibility and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine but supports the idea of adults providing informed consent.

Vaccination has only been mandated in the highest-risk setting, he said.

Staff, volunteers and students in long-term care (LTC) homes are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of entering the facilities.

“That is as far as this government has gone in terms of mandating vaccination and putting a penalty on those who have not been vaccinated has not been entertained by this government,” Moore said.