An Open Letter Slams Quebec's Curfew & Says It Could Have Grim Consequences

Quebec's second curfew could have grim consequences, according to a group of 13 professors, researchers and professionals. In an open letter published on December 30, 2021, the group takes aim at the Quebec government's decision to impose new restrictions on nighttime travel.

The 13 individuals hold positions at McGill, UQAM, Université de Montréal, New York University (NYU), Université Saint-Paul, the Association québécoise pour la promotion de la santé des personnes utilisatrices de drogues (AQPSUD), the Association des juristes progressistes (AJP) and the Ligue des droits et libertés.

They say they decided to speak out against the new curfew in light of the "difficult, even traumatic" effects of the first one, which lasted over four months, from January to May 2021.

"It seems that after 21 months of health crisis, the Legault government is still caught in its inability to plan, foresee, prevent, mitigate," the letter reads.

While the letter authors agree that the rapid spread of infections calls for "greater precautions in social life," they charge that the curfew only serves to threaten Quebecers' health while giving the impression that the government is taking action to respond to the public health threat.

They suggest that instead, the imposition of a curfew "erodes" the public's "support for effective health measures."

The authors further question the effectiveness of a curfew; 93% of Omicron wave outbreaks as of December 15, they say, occurred in schools, daycares and workplaces.

"Since the Legault government has done almost nothing to address ventilation and general air quality in these settings," they wrote, "it is not surprising that they have become hotbeds for the spread of the airborne virus as the fall of 2021 unfolds."

The comments echo those of opposition leader Dominique Anglade, whose office published her own response shortly after Premier François Legault announced the new curfew.

Saying she was "flabbergasted" by the decision, Anglade criticized the Legault government for not working to expand rapid test availability and acting more quickly to install new air filtration systems in the province's schools.

"The measures announced by François Legault are an admission of failure in his management of the pandemic and proof that he has lost control," Anglade concluded.