Will Quebec's Curfew Be Extended? The Health Minister Says 'We'll See'
This one is scheduled to end January 17 – but the last one lasted much longer than initially suggested.
It's no secret that a lot of people are frustrated with the recent Quebec curfew – and though it is scheduled to end on January 17, precedent suggests that curfew deadlines don't really mean much to the provincial government.
During an interview on 98.5 FM on Monday morning, Health Minister Christian Dubé was asked whether the government is considering extending the curfew. For those hoping for an on-time end date, the answer didn't inspire confidence, to say the least.
"It’s January 10, we have a week to go," said Dubé. "We’ll reevaluate what we’re going to do for the 17th. We’ll see how things advance in the coming days."
Dubé made note of the increase in hospitalizations – the number went up another 118 yesterday, to 2,554, another record high for the entire pandemic.
Ouf. Whatever happens is up in the air, of course, but considering Quebec's recent record with curfews, perhaps you shouldn't be too optimistic.
If you remember back in January 2020, Quebec's curfew was only supposed to last for one month. Put in place on January 9, 2021, the first curfew was initially going to be lifted on February 8, 2021.
And then it got extended and moved around a dizzying number of times. At first it was from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., which then became 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Then it went back to 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Then we all gave up and all of a sudden it was May and Quebec was still under curfew.
Legault conveniently ended last year's curfew on his birthday weekend.
So, yeah, the best advice might be: don't hold your breath.