Quebec prosecutor's office wants to crack down hard on fake vaccine passports
Prosecutors have been instructed to not offer alternative settlements for infractions related to fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine passports.
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People who made, bought or used fake COVID-19 vaccine passports won’t get away with a slap on the wrist.
Quebec’s Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) has instructed prosecutors to not offer alternative settlements for infractions related to fraudulent vaccine passports.
They will therefore not be eligible for the “Programme de traitement non judiciaire de certaines infractions criminelles commises par des adultes” nor the “Programme de mesures de rechange général pour adultes.”
The first program can be used in various criminal cases, including the creation, use or trafficking of false documents, under the assumption that some illegal conduct is “isolated behaviour” and does not significantly disrupt the social order.
It’s up to prosecutors to allow people accused of crimes to use this program, which involves a warning instead of a trial and possible criminal record.
The second program allows restitution in other forms, including community service, repayment, counselling or mediation, for cases that are not eligible for the first program. If the agreed-upon actions are taken, the charges are dropped.
The DPCP justified its directive by saying the “pandemic forced the government to keep Quebec in a public health emergency for almost two years” and “a grave threat to the health of the population” requires certain measures, including the vaccine passport. Therefore, “infractions related to false vaccine passports are susceptible to threaten the health of the population” and “it is in the public interest to emphasize the objectives of general deterrence and denunciation.”
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