For the second time since the start of the pandemic, the Government of Quebec will receive assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces. After the CHSLDs, the military will be called upon to speed up vaccination, in the Montreal region to begin with.
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“We have indeed had confirmation from the federal government and planning work is continuing with a view to deploying resources,” said Louis-Julien Dufresne, press secretary to Minister Geneviève Guilbault.
“This work is led by the Department of Health and Social Services, which determines priority sites with the Canadian Armed Forces. The Ministry of Public Security acts as a support coordinator for government action in civil security. We are confident that the personnel of the Armed Forces will be able to help our vaccination operations in the coming days, ”he added.
Expected reinforcement
According to the Minister of National Defense of Canada, Anita Anand, up to 200 members of the Armed Forces could be deployed in Quebec.
“Omicron has caused a significant increase in cases in Quebec and across the country. They will support the vaccination campaign by carrying out planning, logistics and vaccination tasks, ”she communicated via Twitter.
To begin with, the soldiers will be deployed in the Montreal region, it was specified.
“Our reconnaissance teams are carrying out an assessment of the current situation in order to identify specific needs. When the reconnaissance is complete, we will be able to deploy the appropriate number of troops to locations targeted by the province. Soldiers could receive their familiarization session tomorrow, ”said Daniel Minden, press secretary to the Minister of National Defense.
Assigned tasks
This deployment follows the approval of the Quebec government’s request for assistance by Ottawa on December 31, 2021. The Canadian Armed Forces have been given the task of supporting the province’s vaccination campaign for the 3rd dose of the vaccine. against COVID-19.
Duties assigned to the Canadian Armed Forces could include welcoming people to vaccination centers, guiding people through the steps to get vaccinated, and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and areas.
The Canadian Armed Forces and provincial civil authorities have collaborated in the past during Operations LENTUS for the floods, and more recently during Operation LASER in CHSLDs.