Open letter by former premiers slams Quebec's proposed health-care reform
Six former Quebec premiers are joining forces to refute the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government's bid to overhaul the province's health-care system.
In the letter, published in French media, former premiers Philippe Couillard (Quebec Liberal Party), Jean Charest (Quebec Liberal Party), Lucien Bouchard (Parti Québécois), Pauline Marois (Parti Québécois), Daniel Johnson (Quebec Liberal Party) and Pierre Marc Johnson (Parti Québécois) state: "We are speaking to you with one voice, motivated by the conviction that no issue is more important to Quebecers than access to quality health and social services."
However, Health Minister Christian Dubé is standing firm on his new health-care bill.
Bill 15, An Act respecting health services and social services, proposes to make access to health care more efficient under the guidance of Santé Québec, a Crown corporation that would be responsible for coordinating the day-to-day operations of the health and social services networks.
The 300-page document comprises more than 1,100 articles that could modify over 30 laws.
"We believe that merging hospital centres and university institutes into a newly-created government corporation will have a significant negative impact on these institutions," the former premiers state. "While the aim of the reform is to make the health and social services system more efficient and integrated, there are exceptions that must be preserved in the interests of patients and the pursuit of these institutions' missions of excellence."
The six go on to remind the Quebec government that hospitals and university institutes "bring together care, research, teaching, technology assessment and prevention," emphasizing that these activities are inseparable.
They point to the Montreal Heart Institute, which they fear could "break its spirit" and "reduce the major clinical impact of its discoveries" should it fall under the Santé Québec banner.
"Merging the care of the Montreal Heart Institute and other university establishments into Santé Québec would inevitably lead to a decline of their performance in the pursuit of their mission of excellence in health care, to the detriment of patients and Quebec society as a whole," the former premiers lament.
They bemoan that loss of autonomy may also stunt the institutions' abilities to raise philanthropic funds, which are essential to cutting-edge care.
The former premiers end their letter by stating they understand the health-care system needs some sort of update to meet the demanding challenges of accessibility and quality of care -- but ask that the government avoid compromising the needs of Quebecers in its quest for reform.
DUBÉ STANDING FIRM
Minister Dubé says the government is moving ahead with Bill 15.
"All the establishments are staying there. It's just to make sure we have the right compromise between the coordination that we need and the way we do research and being supported by those big foundations," the minister said.
The opposition Liberals agree with the former premiers that the new bill would not make the health-care system more efficient.
"We have very specific university institutes, very specific institutes who need to be able to carry out their mandate in a way that was theirs, in a way that's not always just dictated from above," said Liberal health critic André Fortin.
"That's what we're asking Christian Dubé, that's what we're asking François Legault, that's what the six premiers are asking today, is stop what you're doing, take a breath and see how you can give them the independence that they need in order to carry out their full mandate and improve patient care."
Another concern is how the bill would affect funding for each hospital foundation, which many rely on.
"We have six university research centres that are extremely well known throughout the world. They innovate. If they don't have the capacity to raise money to develop their research projects and to apply their innovative methods through the care that they give Quebecers, we're going to lose something very precious," said the PQ health critic Joël Arseneau.
Dubé says all of that will remain the same.
"I'm keeping the foundation and their research exactly as they were; no change," he said.
Dubé has said he wants to pass the bill by the end of this session and has said he's not ruled out invoking closure, a procedural move that would end debate on the bill.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Infant dies in ATV crash, N.S. RCMP says alcohol may be a factor
An infant has died and three others, including another child, were taken to hospital following an ATV crash in Forties, N.S., on Monday.
'Do not drive': Nissan warns Canadian drivers of explosion risk impacting 48,000 vehicles
Car manufacturer Nissan has issued a do-not-drive warning for some older vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators, due to the risk of explosion during a crash.
WATCH LIVE Charges against world's top golfer Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship
Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top male golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship.
Canadians are eyeing moves to these cities for more affordable housing
Faced with elevated housing prices, half of Canadians in the country's largest cities are considering moving to places with more affordable housing.
'Scandals and secrets': On board the world's most exclusive private residential ship
It’s a floating city exclusively home to the 1 per cent, a playground for multimillionaires and billionaires that circumnavigates the world's oceans.
How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election
Here is how three potential outcomes from the jury room ─ a guilty verdict, an acquittal or a hung jury ─ could affect the presidential campaign.
Tessa Virtue reveals she's expecting her first child. Here's what Canadians had to say
Canadian figure-skating icon Tessa Virtue is expecting her first child, she revealed via social media Tuesday.
An Iceland volcano starts erupting again, spewing lava into the sky
A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Wednesday for the fifth time since December, spewing red streams of lava in the latest display of nature’s power and triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.
'Are you driving?' U.S. man with suspended licence shows up on court Zoom call while behind the wheel
A Michigan man with a suspended driver's licence didn't appear to have thought through a recent court appearance made on video, joining the Zoom call while driving.