The Quebec Federation of Municipalities of Quebec (FQM) is taking to the front to denounce the reductions in health services on the North Shore, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in Nord-du-Québec. In a letter sent Wednesday to the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, and including The duty obtained a copy, the group points out that “the citizens of these regions have come to clearly think of themselves as second-class citizens, unable to benefit from the same rights as their fellow citizens”.
The FQM considers the situation “unacceptable”. According to her, the regions have suffered for decades “the agonies of the various reforms which have followed one another” and which had the promise of improving health care. “If the regions were once able to have access to minimal services, today these have completely disappeared from most of our communities in favor of large centers,” writes the president of the group, Jacques Demers, mayor of Sainte-Catherine- de-Hatley, in Estrie.
Citizens must now “travel like never before” to obtain “more than minimal services,” he continues. “In this context, you can easily imagine the consequences of a new round of service reductions! » He believes that the repercussions will be “dramatic” for “many” vulnerable people, such as seniors, caregivers, women due to give birth or people suffering from serious illnesses.
The president of the FQM specifies in his letter that the members of his federation share the government’s position to put an end to the use of personnel placement agencies. “Obviously, all elected officials and especially those directly concerned took it for granted that such a paradigm shift would be carefully planned and that strong intervention plans would be prepared to avoid any interruption of services,” he writes. “Unfortunately, the events unfolding before our eyes demonstrate that this was not the case. »
Cutbacks avoided, but a “very fragile” situation
The CISSS de la Côte-Nord announced Monday that it would close dozens of hospitalization beds and reduce several services “for an indefinite period” in its hospitals in Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles due to a shortage of staff. According to the health establishment, fewer employees of personnel placement agencies decide to work in the region since the implementation of new rules by Quebec aimed at reducing the use of independent labor, as capping of hourly rates (for a clinical nurse, $74 per hour + 35% in remote areas). By October 18, 2026, remote areas like the North Shore will have to stop using agencies.
When we say “quality”, it is not the minimum that we want, it is meaningful care in the same way that it is offered elsewhere in Quebec. We are not second-class citizens and we refuse to be.
At the end of the day on Wednesday, the CISSS de la Côte-Nord indicated that the closure of around twenty beds in each of its two hospitals would ultimately not take place because “new resources” had just been found and that employees and managers were mobilized. The emergency room at the Multiservice Health and Social Services Center in Forestville, in Haute-Côte-Nord, will also remain open at night.
The CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue will update its service reorganization plan on Friday. In particular, he planned to close a 12-bed active mental health rehabilitation unit at the Malartic hospital on Monday.
Even if service cuts are avoided, health services nonetheless remain “very fragile” in remote regions, according to Claire Bolduc, member of the executive committee of the FQM and prefect of the MRC of Témiscamingue. “So much the better if it improves hour by hour, but it remains extremely worrying that we do not have a guarantee of quality health care,” she said in an interview with Duty.
“And when we say “quality”, it is not the minimum that we want, it is meaningful care in the same way that it is offered elsewhere in Quebec. We are not second-class citizens and we refuse to be. »
Quebec must understand and recognize the reality of the regions, she emphasizes. “In Longueuil, you have four hospitals within a 20 km radius,” she said. The Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d’Or hospitals are separated by 120 km. Those of Ville-Marie and Rouyn-Noranda by 150 km. “Someone who is in Montreal or Quebec in a tower will never understand what Abitibi-Témiscamingue is. You have to have both feet on the ground to fully understand what it is. »
According to her, the solutions are not just about money. “It’s also a question and a lot of ability to understand,” she believes. There is money in the system. It is poorly distributed. »
The FQM asks the Minister of Health to “submit an action plan to ensure access to health services everywhere, in all regions of Quebec”, as he committed to doing during the MRC assembly. in spring 2023.
Solutions to resolve the crisis
At Christian Dubé’s office, it is confirmed that the minister will meet with members of the MRC assembly at the end of May to discuss current problems and the solutions that will be put forward to resolve them. “Our objective is to strengthen the public network, for Quebec patients and for the staff who work there, in all regions,” we say in a written declaration.
In the coming weeks, the government intends to set up, with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and the Fédération des Travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), a “public flying team” which will be deployed “in priority” in regions where “the situation is critical, such as the Côte-Nord and Abitibi-Témiscamingue”.
Quebec says it wants to offer “advantageous conditions” to the nurses and beneficiary attendants of the CSN and the FTQ who will be part of this brigade.