Calls Come for Canada to Make COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory for All Citizens

May 07, 2020

There are two ways the government could make the vaccine mandatory: criminalization or regulation.
...regulation would not make the failure to get the vaccine a criminal offense, but would include other sanctions, including withholding tax refunds, federal benefits such as child tax, employment insurance, and pension, denying the ability to work, and denying a passport to those who put others at risk

As the COVID-19 virus now counts millions of victims worldwide, and deaths number into the hundreds of thousands – along with making a secondary casualty of the global economy – the race to discover and produce a vaccine proceed continues apace around the globe, with a successful vaccine being the world’s best chance to stop the virus and return a degree of normality to national and global affairs.

However, health analysts are concerned that large numbers of badly informed citizens with conservative beliefs, refusing to believe in science and accept vaccinations, could thwart the needed herd immunity that makes a broad-scale vaccination program effective.

As a result, calls have come for the vaccination, once tested, available, and safe, to be made mandatory by Canada’s federal government.

How Could the Government Regulate the Need for Mass Vaccination?

There are two ways the government could make the vaccine mandatory: criminalization or regulation.

Criminalization is the harsher of the two methods, and would make failure to get the vaccine within a specified of time a criminal offense.  Criminal penalties, including fines, probations, or jail time could be applied for a failure to obtain vaccination as mandated by public health authorities.

In contrast. regulation would not make the failure to get the vaccine a criminal offense, but would include other sanctions, including withholding tax refunds, federal benefits such as child tax, employment insurance, and pension, denying the ability to work, and denying a passport to those who put others at risk by failing to be vaccinated.  Given the balance between the need for public health and personal liberty, the regulatory approach to mandatory vaccination is seen as the more likely response to the public health crisis.

For those who fail to have their children vaccinated, the state may have a simpler solution in declaring those children wards of the state in need of protective services until such time as they are vaccinated, vaccinating those children, and returning them to parental care.  Similarly, seniors might be denied residency in care homes until such time as they are properly vaccinated.

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials have also pointed to the misinformation pandemic causing additional risk to Canadians and global citizens at this difficult time. With conservatives especially susceptible to misinformation and lacking a grounding in fact-based science, government may need to take extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of all Canadians. Mandatory vaccinations may constitute an infringement on Canadians’ Charter rights, but such an infringement would be justifiable in a free and democratic society needing to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

For those who do not wish to engage in the social responsibility of properly informing themselves, government is likely to step in to ensure public protection and continued social functioning.  The extent to which Canada’s government is prepared to take strong and timely measures to protect citizens and the economy remains to be seen, as the race for a vaccine continues around the globe.