(Montreal) Demonstrations are being organized in several municipalities in Quebec on Sunday to support the midwifery profession whose future is “seriously threatened” by Bill 15, according to the Fédération des professionnèles (FP-CSN).
Bill 15, presented by the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, aims to reform the health system, in particular through the creation of the state corporation Santé Québec.
However, the Regroupement Les sages-femmes du Québec (RSFQ), affiliated with the FP-CSN, believes that the bill infringes on the professional autonomy of midwives.
In an open letter published in September in several media, the RSFQ and the Coalition for Midwifery Practice deplored that the Act to make the health and social services system more efficient places midwives “under the hierarchy of a medical director and [soumettrait] their work in the evaluation of a professional council composed of a large majority of doctors where they will always be in the minority,” we can read there.
Demonstrations will take place in Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Gaspé and Carleton-sur-Mer on Sunday, with the aim of raising public awareness of the impacts of the bill and asking Minister Dubé to modify “his bill to protect the professional autonomy of midwives,” said the FP-CSN in a press release.
In Montreal, participants in the demonstration will gather from 2 p.m. in front of the office of Prime Minister François Legault, on Sherbrooke Street West, downtown. The member for Québec solidaire, spokesperson for the status of women, Ruba Ghazal, will take part in the rally.