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christian dubé

Quebec's Health Minister wants to ban the sale of flavoured vape products in-province. Christian Dubé announced on April 19 that he'll propose amendments to the Tobacco Control Act that would prohibit the sale and distribution of smoking products with "a flavour or aroma other than tobacco," including electronic cigarettes.

The proposed regulation aims to financially affect companies that profit from the sale of vaping products. It would also limit the capacity of vaping devices to two millilitres, and restrice the maximum volume of refill vape juice to 30 millilitres.

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Provincial Health Minister Christian Dubé will join National Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau at a press conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss Quebec's current COVID-19 situation.

Conferences including both government and public health officials have been rare since Boileau's takeover as interim public health director following the resignation of Dr. Horacio Arruda in January.

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As of June 18, 2022, masks are no longer mandatory for public transit users across Quebec.

While the mask mandate for indoor enclosed spaces ended back on May 14, the government extended the mandate for a handful of public areas, including public transit.

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Another piece of Quebec's COVID-19 mask mandate will come to an end this month. As of 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, face-coverings will no longer be required on public transit.

The mask rule has persisted on transit despite the end of the requirement in other enclosed public spaces on May 14.

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Quebec's COVID-19 state of emergency is finally over after 811 days — but that doesn't mean the end of all measures.

The legislation to formally end the health emergency, Bill 28, passed by a vote of 68 to 42 in the National Assembly Wednesday, June 1. Its adoption empowers the government to continue to enforce some public health orders until December 31, however.

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You may have been looking forward to packing away all your masks until the next pandemic, but they might be useful for a little longer. While officials had planned on ending the Quebec mask mandate for most public spaces in mid-April, it's looking like that deadline will be postponed.

"We're considering whether it would be appropriate to push back that date," interim National Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau said on Radio-Canada on April 3. "It's certainly conceivable that recommendations will go in that direction."

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Following a brief lull in cases after the Omicron variant swept through the province (worst. Christmas. ever), COVID-19 cases in Quebec have begun to increase yet again. Officials at the public health institute have officially declared a sixth wave.

On Thursday, Quebec reported 3,319 new cases and 1,238 total hospitalizations.

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The Quebec government has unveiled a new plan to revamp the province's healthcare system over the next three years. Among 50 proposed updates, Health Minister Christian Dubé emphasized increasing health sector hiring, centralizing information sharing, and improving access to care.

"We have two objectives: that all Quebecers have the best patient experience... [and] that the health network is a choice employer," said Dubé.

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As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in Europe, and restrictions are being lifted here at home, Quebecers might be starting to wonder: are we due for a sixth wave of COVID-19 infections? The answer is maybe, according to the Minister of Health and Social Services Christian Dubé — but he's confident it will be manageable.

In a March 16 press conference, Christian Dubé said that there was a possibility of a sixth wave, but that "it's a possibility that we can manage right now." According to Dubé, we can thank Quebec's vaccination rate, the rate of infection in Quebec in December and January, and the time of year for the reduced risk posed by a potential sixth wave.

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Quebec has been enjoying springtime weather and loosened restrictions this week — but we're not out of the COVID-19 woods just yet. Quebec will likely be recommending a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for vulnerable individuals, according to the health minister.

In a press conference on March 17, Minister Christian Dubé confirmed that a fourth dose may be on the horizon for at-risk people.

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Quebec's health emergency could soon be lifted. Health Minister Christian Dubé has tabled a bill in the National Assembly that would by and large return the province to normal. If passed, however, the bill would extend some of the special government powers granted by the state of emergency through December 2022.

Among those, would be the power to change or revoke health orders, which the bill asserts would be used for the relaxation of health rules.

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March 12 is the date when, in the words of Premier François Legault, Quebecers will begin to see a "more normal life." Most Quebec COVID-19 measures are set to change or cease on Saturday, including the vaccine passport.

The change will come almost exactly two years after Quebec first took steps to address the pandemic. The first provincial health emergency declaration was on March 13, 2020.

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