Quebec redirects COVID-19 vaccinations from Olympic Stadium because of weekend protest
Posted April 30, 2021 2:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL – Quebec is redirecting people from the mass vaccination site at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday because of a planned protest in the area against COVID-19 health orders.
Health Minister Christian Dube said today on Twitter appointments have been transferred to other clinics in the city.
Manif au Stade olympique : les rdv ont été condensés avant 10h et déplacés dans d’autres cliniques. Les équipes se sont réorganisées car on a la capacité.
C’est extrêmement dommage. On respecte le droit de manifester, mais vacciner est la priorité. On continue les opérations.
— Christian Dubé (@cdube_sante) April 30, 2021
Dube says the other clinics had the capacity to honour appointments scheduled at the stadium but is deploring the fact protesters are choosing to demonstrate outside the mass vaccination site.
The protest is being organized online by a group calling itself Quebec Debout (Quebec standing up). It calls the public health orders imposed in the province “excessive and unjustified.”
Protests are planned in Montreal and several other Quebec towns, according to the group’s Facebook page.
Dube says the government respects the right to demonstrate but vaccination is a priority.
“People have a right to their opinion, but I think they could have left those who are getting vaccinated alone,” Dube told TVA network in an interview today.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2021.
