Bill 15: Quebec tables legislation to overhaul health system
The CAQ government has unveiled its long-promised plan to improve Quebec's public health network.
Tabled at the Quebec legislature Wednesday by Health Minister Christian Dubé, Bill 15 promises a major shakeup. He said he's confident health professionals will approve.
"They will be very proud to be part of the changes we're making," he said.
Bill 15, An act to make the health and social services system more effective, is a massive piece of legislation consisting of nearly 300 pages and more than 1,100 articles. It will modify more than 30 laws.
One major change is creating a new management organization, Santé Québec. The agency will handle the day-to-day operations in hospitals and health-care facilities. With Santé Québec in charge, the CIUSSS acronym will no longer apply.
Quebec also wants medical specialists to increase the number of patients they see.
The bill also allows for more mobility with staff, who will retain their seniority if they work in another region.
Improving work conditions and culture will go a long way, said Dubé.
"Once upon a time, there was a culture of the patients. There was a feeling of being part of a team in one hospital. This has been lost," he said. "The first thing that we need to do is get back nurses and personnel in the system."
Opposition parties are critical and unconvinced that Bill 15 will make a significant difference.
"We have a hard time understanding how these changes, which are mainly in the management of the network, will give people better services," said PQ health critic Joel Arseneau.
Liberal MNA Andre Fortin said the focus is in the wrong areas.
"There seems to be a focus on the structure of the health-care network instead of focus on patient care, on attracting people to the health-care network, on making sure we have the proper resources to treat Quebecers when they need care," he said.
Bill 15 has only been tabled and will be debated and possibly modified in the coming months.
Given its size, it's still unclear when the bill will be passed into law.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.