Change of zone: concerns of elected officials from Eastern Quebec

Several elected officials from Eastern Quebec are worried about finding themselves in a red zone, regardless of the epidemiological situation in their regions.

• Read also: New regions in the red zone from Friday

The situation is very different from one region to another and even within a region. This is the case in Gaspésie where it is very difficult in Baie-des-Chaleurs at present, while it is dead calm in Haute-Gaspésie where there are no active cases.

Mayors in the east of the province want to be able to maintain a certain economic activity, if the epidemiological situation allows it and they do not want to be penalized if the number of cases is out of control elsewhere in the province.

“It would be unfair to subject our entire population to a mode of confinement,” the mayor of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Simon Deschênes, told TVA Nouvelles.

“I would not hide from you that I am concerned about the possibility of painting Quebec in its entirety,” added the mayor of Rimouski, Marc Parent.

The mayor of Sept-Îles, Réjean Porlier, wants the current system to be kept in place. “The regions where things are going well, continue to allow activities to keep the confidence of the population,” he explained.

The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, seems to agree. According to him, it is not necessary to intervene more harshly in places where the situation is under control.

“It would be too easy to say we put everyone in red and hurt places that do not need it,” he said Tuesday during the government press briefing.