Manitoba to pass on tax for unvaxxed: Stefanson

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A tax on unvaccinated Manitobans similar to a proposal revealed in Quebec earlier this week isn’t something Premier Heather Stefanson is considering.

“I think there’s other measures we could probably take before we go to that step,” Stefanson told a news conference Wednesday without offering any examples.

Quebec Premier François Legault announced Tuesday he plans to make the unvaccinated pay a “significant” financial penalty, but few details were provided. People who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 occupy a disproportionate number of hospital beds and should be required to pay an additional contribution to the health-care system, he said.

“I think we need to encourage as many Manitobans to get vaccinated (as possible). I think there are other ways we can do that,” Stefanson said.

“As a cabinet we’ll have those discussions with public health to see if there’s evidence that shows this actually works to get more people vaccinated. We want to ensure we do implement things to get more Manitobans vaccinated.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he needs more information before he can say whether he supports Quebec’s tax proposal.

Manitoba vaccine task force medical lead Dr. Joss Reimer said she hasn’t reviewed any scientific evidence to see if a tax would encourage people to get vaccinated.

“We do know that there are some negative-reinforcement tactics that are very effective but finances don’t tend to be one of those that are particularly very effective. It depends on how things are implemented,” she said at Wednesday’s news conference.

Manitoba has conducted a lottery for residents who got vaccinated, and proof of vaccination is required to take part in practically all non-essential activities, such as restaurant dining or catching a movie at a theatre.

Arthur Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, said he doesn’t think imposing a tax on the unvaccinated is a good idea. It would violate a person’s basic right to control what they put in their body and unfairly targets low-income people who can’t afford a financial penalty.

Such a tax likely wouldn’t survive a court challenge or change the mind of adamant anti-vaxxers, he said.

“I think it’s a proposal to be considered only when every other idea has been tried and failed,” he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

— With files from Canadian Press