https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-unvaccinated-canadians-covid-hospitals-1.6305159
Trudeau says Canadians are 'angry' and 'frustrated' with the unvaccinated
PM's comments come after President Macron vowed to pressure France's vaccine holdouts
Trudeau said that while most Canadians have stepped up to get their shots — putting Canada near the top of the list of countries with the highest vaccination rates — the unvaccinated remain a problem.
"It's not just about governments and health workers frustrated that there are Canadians who still continue to choose to not get vaccinated. It's fellow Canadians as well," he said.
"When people are seeing cancer treatments and elective surgeries put off because beds are filled with people who chose not to get vaccinated, they're frustrated.
"When people see that we are in lockdowns or serious public health restrictions right now because of the risk posed to all of us by unvaccinated people, people get angry."
Watch: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pleads with the unvaccinated to get the shot:
According to CBC's vaccine tracker, almost 87 per cent of Canadians aged 5 and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 80.6 per cent are fully vaccinated against the virus.
While those rates are high, Trudeau said the record case numbers being driven by the Omicron variant are leading to more and more hospitalizations and forcing cancellations of elective surgeries, putting Canadians' health at risk.
"That front line health worker who's giving you your first dose of the vaccine, even now in January 2022, will be immensely pleased to be able to give you that first dose of vaccine, even today," Trudeau said. "Because they'd much rather be giving you an injection of vaccine than intubating you in an ICU."
Trudeau made his comments after French President Emmanuel Macron said that his own frustration with vaccine holdouts has led to legislation designed to "piss off" the unvaccinated.
WATCH | How rapid tests could be used:
Facing an election in April, Macron unveiled a draft bill that would make it mandatory for people to show proof of vaccination to enter a restaurant or cinema or to take the train.
Macron also said the unvaccinated are "irresponsible" and that he plans to make their lives so complicated that they'll feel compelled to get the shot.
With files from Reuters
Does he know you exist?
French parliament suspends COVID-19 debate after Macron says he wants to 'piss off' the unvaccinated
Opposition politicians slam French president's comment
French parliament suspended debate on a new COVID-19 law early on Wednesday as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to "piss off" unvaccinated people.
With a presidential election looming in April, in which he is expected to run, Macron may have calculated that enough people are now vaccinated — and upset with those who have not been vaccinated — for his comments to go down well with voters.
But the interview with Le Parisien newspaper, published late on Tuesday, was widely condemned by opposition lawmakers, who forced the suspension of the debate over the new restrictions.
The draft bill will make it mandatory for people to show proof of vaccination to enter a restaurant, cinema or take the train.
'Irresponsible'
In the interview, Macron also said unvaccinated people were "irresponsible" and that he planned to make their lives so complicated that they would end up having a vaccine.
"Irresponsible people are no longer citizens," he said, in another comment criticized by the opposition.
"A president cannot say such things," lawmaker Christian Jacob, who chairs the opposition conservative les Républicains party, told parliament. "I'm in favour of the vaccine pass but I cannot back a text whose objective is to 'piss off' the French."
Jacob went on: "Is that your objective, yes or no? We cannot keep debating without having a clear answer on that."
Other opposition politicians echoed Jacob's comments and demanded Prime Minister Jean Castex come to talk to them. The session was suspended shortly before 2 a.m local time and was due to resume at 3 p.m.
Vaccination rate among Europe's highest
France has historically had more vaccine skeptics than many of its neighbours, and pandemic restrictions have triggered many street protests, but it now has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the European Union. Nearly 90 per cent of French people aged 12 and over have been vaccinated.
In the interview, in which he responded to questions from a small group of Le Parisien readers, Macron did not say whether he would run for re-election but said he "would like to."
The "piss off" comments — "emmerder" is a slang verb that can also be translated as "annoy" — was made in response to one of these readers, a nurse, who asked him about surgeries postponed for some vaccinated people because hospitals are busy treating non-vaccinated sick with COVID-19.
For months, people have had to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test at many public venues. But as infections with the Delta and Omicron variants surge, the government has decided to drop the test option in the new bill.
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