Santé Quebec launch brings uncertainty to province's health-care system

Santé Quebec is launching on Sunday amid concerns over budget cuts and the impact on services.

“This is not the ideal time for Sante Quebec to come in,” admitted Health Minister Christian Dubé.

The new Crown corporation will take over management of the province’s health-care system, replacing the regional health authorities known as CIUSSS and it's already facing challenges.

During a press conference on Friday, Dubé acknowledged that eliminating $1.5 billion in health-care spending will likely have an impact on services but added that the province will try to "minimize" it.

Already, hundreds of vacant positions have been abolished in every region of Quebec, opposition parties lamented.

The agency was mandated to return to a balanced budget, which the minister described on Thursday as "non-negotiable."

The CSN union (Confédération des syndicats nationaux) said it is expecting chaos with the new agency.

“It’s not that we are afraid we are going to lose jobs because there’s such a shortage that everybody will probably find a place, but then if you’re not hiring [and you still need to provide those services,] it's going to affect the population,” said CSN President Caroline Senneville. 

In 2018, the CAQ government promised 90-minute wait times to see a doctor in the emergency room. But the Parti Québécois argued that it was far from the reality people are experiencing today.

Dr. Christopher Labos said It's still too early to say exactly what impact Santé Quebec will have on the ground.

“If you have a doctor’s appointment on Monday, I don’t suspect you’re going to notice a difference. I’m going to go to work on Monday and I’m going to do exactly the same thing as I was doing before,” Labos said.

Of all the measures included in Dubé’s health-care reform, Santé Quebec is perhaps the most important of all.

With files from The Canadian Press.