At Prime Minister Legault’s office, we must have had a cold sweat when we learned that coroner Géhane Kamel had been appointed to investigate the tragedy of the CHSLDs.
Its report on the death of Joyce Echaquan has shown that it can give more than the client asks for and the government’s systematic refusal to order a public inquiry gives the unfortunate impression that it is ready to go. to satisfy little.
Throughout the pandemic, the national director of public health, Dr Horacio Arruda, got us used to enigmatic turns of phrase, which he often concluded by saying: “I don’t know if you see what I mean”. Obviously, Me Kamel also struggled to understand.
From February 2020, “there was a thought that these circles would be affected,” he explained during his questioning, adding that “in fact, there may have been issues with the management of care settings that should have been there ”.
A thought ” ? There were “maybe” issues? Given the obvious lack of preparation of the CHSLDs when the pandemic broke out, the coroner did not hide her “discomfort”.
In other words, we knew there was a serious risk and we did nothing. Worse still, we worsened the problem by transferring to CHSLDs, where the staff shortage had been known for a long time, more than 1,200 elderly people who were in hospitals.
While the entire planet was caught off guard by the scale of the pandemic, Quebec obviously could not escape it, but the damage could certainly have been limited.
The first question remains that of reaction time. Since the Dr Arruda confirmed that the CHSLDs were already an object of concern in February 2020, we are even more surprised that he decided to stay in Morocco for ten days and did not alert the Prime Minister until March 9.
It was only on April 13, three days after the discovery of the horrors of the Herron Residence, that a committee aimed at coordinating the fight against the virus in CHSLDs was created. Even then, the president of the Association des médecins gériatres du Québec, Dr.r Serge Brazeau, deplored the “lack of enthusiasm” of certain members of the committee. “While there was an urgent need to act, I found that there was a lot of slowness in our work and a lot of rectitude,” he explained to the coroner.
Me Kamel, who wanted to learn about the inspection reports of CHSLDs during the first wave, was told by the assistant deputy minister of the general directorate of seniors and caregivers, Natalie Rosebush, that they did not have. been kept. This too is disturbing.
It is very unfortunate that medical reasons prevent the Minister responsible for Seniors, Marguerite Blais, from testifying. One day or another, however, we will have to move up the chain of command.
For months, Jean Charest had turned a deaf ear despite voices from all sides calling for an investigation into corruption in the construction industry and its links with the funding of political parties.
When the pressure became too strong and he had to resign himself to creating the Charbonneau commission in the fall of 2011, he could however be assured that the key witnesses would not testify before he had had time to call a general election. The final report was not delivered until November 2015, after the Liberals regained power lost in 2012.
From the start, Mr. Legault has argued that a public inquiry into the management of the pandemic is not necessary, since it will have been extensively studied, the problems will have been identified and the necessary corrective measures will have been made. This is undoubtedly what he will repeat when Me Kamel will deliver his report. However, his investigation shows rather that we learn a little more each time.
At this stage, there is not the slightest risk that a public inquiry will hamper the chances of re-election of the CAQ next October. Moreover, unlike the Charest government, no one doubts that that of Mr. Legault and that the Prime Minister himself had the best intentions.
The successes encountered thereafter cannot erase the failures of the first wave. We owe to those whose death could have been avoided and to their loved ones to carry out a full autopsy. It almost becomes a matter of decency.