Deputy premier regrets urging Quebecers to stay 'docile' as province reckons with COVID-19

New seniors homes hope to curb spread of illnesses Quebec is moving ahead with plans to build new seniors homes aimed at preventing the transmission of infections.

Montreal — Quebec Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault was forced to do some digital damage control Wednesday afternoon after earlier having urged Quebecers to remain "docile" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guilbault - who replaced Premier Francois Legault at the Quebec government's daily COVID-19 briefing Wednesday - announced the government's latest deconfinement measure: removing some of the travel restrictions between many Quebec regions that were put in place last month to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In making the point that measures such as those, as well as ones announced earlier this week by the Legault government about reopening the province's schools and businesses, are contingent on Quebecers continuing to respect public-health orders, Guilbault said: "If we succeed, if we are prudent, if we are docile and if we are disciplined, we will succeed in our plan to open regions - without restarting the pandemic."

Guilbault's use of the word "docile" stirred up many bad feelings on social media from Quebecers who took umbrage at the term, particularly on Twitter - which is where Guilbault went to walk back her choice of words.

"The French language is so beautiful and varied ... that I should have used the term "disciplined" rather than "docile" during the press briefing today. Far be it from me to offend anyone, on the contrary! Quebecers have been exemplary from the start. Let's stay the course!" Guilbault tweeted

Guilbault, who is also Quebec's Public Security Minister, has been Legault's primary back-up when the premier has taken a rare day off from the widely watched daily briefings during the COVID-19 pandemic.