Legault plans to lift Quebec's state of emergency once youth vaccinated
CBC
Quebec Premier François Legault said the provincewide state of emergency order that gives the government special powers will be lifted once kids aged five to 11 are vaccinated.
That means the order will be lifted in early 2022, he said Tuesday during his inaugural speech at the National Assembly to mark the start of a new legislative session.
This comes after Legault announced Oct. 7 he was proroguing the province's legislature, cutting short the previous session. Prorogation ends work on all bills before the legislature, though the government can bring back legislation it considers essential and pick up where it left off.
After three years of exercise of power, Legault said on Tuesday that it was necessary to try to breathe new life into his government by launching a new session marked with promises to bring sweeping changes to the province.
"We are able in Quebec to change things," said the premier. "Nothing can stop Quebec."
That is, he added, as long as leaders do not sit on idle hands but continue to push for change.
In his speech, Legault looked back over the the last three years while vowing to improve the health-care network, digital services, daycares and education — enhancing sports, cultural programming and vocational training.
Education is the best investment for improving society, he said.
The premier said he laid out a plan in 2018 to improve the provincial economy and put money in the pockets of residents. He said his government has achieved those goals, despite the pandemic.
"Never has a government so honoured its electoral promises," he said as he kicked off the second session of the 42nd legislature of the National Assembly.
Throughout that pandemic, Legault said his government managed to keep kids in school longer than most any other government in North America and now has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
He said the economy never stopped and now is growing faster than anywhere else in Canada.
He said Quebec lost many during the pandemic, but succeeded in many areas because of the hard work of public health officials, health-care workers, legislators and, of course, the population.
"That you to all Quebecers," he said
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