In an unprecedented gesture, the last six living prime ministers of Quebec united their voices to convince Prime Minister François Legault to revise certain aspects of Bill 15 from the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
The letter sent to the Prime Minister on Tuesday was co-signed by Pauline Marois, Lucien Bouchard, Jean Charest, Philippe Couillard, Daniel Johnson and Pierre Marc Johnson.
“As you know, we have never intervened together before today,” they wrote to the Prime Minister after emphasizing that “no issue is more important” for the population than access and quality. health and social services.
Former prime ministers are concerned about the future of university hospitals and research institutes like the Montreal Heart Institute. They fear that the new agency created by Minister Dubé will undermine their autonomy and are calling for “exceptions”.
“These institutions also each have their own specificity,” they say. “The merger of the care of the Montreal Heart Institute and other university establishments into Santé Québec would inevitably lead to a decline in their performance […] to the detriment of patients and all of Quebec society. »
From the outset, they are opposed to a “two-tier” approach in which the care and research activities of these institutions would be separated.
They further mention that “the loss of their legal entity and their autonomy would have adverse effects” on philanthropic funding.
Dubé crossing route immediately rejected
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, summoned the media on Tuesday to announce new amendments to his bill. However, according to our information, these changes have in no way satisfied the prime ministers.
The letter to the Prime Minister was also sent after the tabling of Mr. Dubé’s amendments.
As a compromise, Mr. Dubé proposed that the powers of the future Santé Québec agency in terms of teaching and research be delegated to the boards of directors of the establishments (the Integrated Health and Social Services Centers, also called CISSS). .
As for philanthropic activities, they would not be the responsibility of the agency’s board of directors, but of its CEO and monetary donations would be entrusted to an “establishment foundation”.
Speaking of these amendments as a “way of passage”, Mr. Dubé acknowledged having had “constructive” “exchanges” with some of the former prime ministers during “recent weeks”.
He pledged that “major hospitals” and “major institutes” “retain their identity”.
The standoff that is emerging is reminiscent of that which occurred during the reform led by Gaétan Barrette in 2014. When the CISSS was created, the latter had suffered strong pressure from university hospitals which wanted to preserve their autonomy.
The university institutes and hospitals ultimately won their case and were not incorporated into the structure of the CISSS.