Mr. Christian Dubé, Minister of Health, Mr. Luc Provençal, President of the Health and Social Services Commission,
By virtue of your respective roles in the detailed study of Bill 15, we ask that you take all the time necessary to carry out the detailed study of this bill. The importance of the health and social services system to the population and the extent of the changes resulting from Bill 15 require that its adoption be carried out according to the highest democratic standards.
A few days before the end of the session, announced by the government as the conclusion of work on this bill, there remain several hundred articles to study, not counting government amendments which could still be tabled. It is obvious that there will not be enough time to address them all, but, above all, to study them diligently and to treat them transparently. Consequently, the parliamentarians who are members of the commission will not be able to play the role expected by the population.
Bill 15 has nearly 1,200 articles, and the government tabled hundreds of amendments, which not only increased the workload of committee members, but also prevented the contribution of organizations like the Table des groupements provincial councils of community and voluntary organizations (the Table).
For example, on October 4, amended articles immediately (numbers 435 to 450) were adopted without the Table being notified – and even less consulted -, and therefore, without parliamentarians knowing the concrete effects on the 3,000 autonomous community organizations in the field of health and social services (OCASSS) that we bring together.
But what’s even worse is that the adoption was based on incomplete and even misleading information. Without ascribing any intention to the government, it must be clarified that the harmful effects of these articles on the OCASSS have not been considered, even if they will harm their autonomy and will, in the long term, prevent them from obtaining government funding. which they need so much. What’s more, these articles contradict those adopted a few weeks later which made it possible to preserve the autonomy of community organizations carrying out voluntary terminations of pregnancies.
A month ago, the Table sent a letter asking the commission to reconsider the adoption of articles 435 to 450, but these have still not been reviewed and time is against the OCASSS.
This example is surely not the only one illustrating the need to continue the analysis of Bill 15 beyond December 8 and, above all, the importance of not disrupting the democratic process by invoking a gag order.
Paradoxically, an amendment relating to the acquired rights of foundations linked to network installations was tabled by the minister, immediately, on 1er December. He then quickly rallied to the demands of opposition members regarding the importance of consulting these foundations in order to ensure that the result corresponds to their expectations.
On the one hand, we would have liked to benefit from the same attention. But on the other hand, this example highlights the problem which arises when parliamentarians are faced with amendments which have not been the subject of consultation, which is the case here since the hearings and the briefs focused on the bill as it appeared when it was tabled last April.
We call on you not to rush the adoption of Bill 15. Not only is the proper functioning of the health and social services system at stake, but democracy itself. All the articles and amendments of a bill must be analyzed, which requires consultations adapted to the current state of Bill 15 and the correction of errors, including the one we are raising.