Curfew is over, but the negative impacts will still affect communities, along with other punitive measures continued to be enforced by the municipal and Quebec provincial governments.

Jean-Sébastien Fallu, Ph.D., Associate professor, School of psychoeducation at the Université de Montréal and Regular researcher at the Centre de recherche en santé publique (CReSP) signed a letter among other academics stating that Quebec's curfew causes more harm than good.

Fallu says that youth, in particular, are facing the weight of lockdown measures. He told Local 514 that the pandemic and measures such as curfew has disproportionately affected youth, citing that it is fundamental for youth to socialize to further their development, and that the curfew limits this as youth typically go out around 10 p.m. 

Fallu also identified that during the pandemic the rate of substance abuse has increased among youth.

He says the governments' handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has focused more on security, political and punitive measures, rather than effective ones. Fallu says the CAQ’s platform focuses on dividing society and the social division led by government results in stigmatization, further marginalizing some communities.

Fallu says that repression doesn't work and that there needs to be more emphasis on support and harm reduction to benefit all.

Watch the most recent episode of Local 514 for more on our governments use of punitive measures to control the spread of COVID-19.

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