Minister Marguerite Blais found herself in the crosshairs of the opposition parties at the Blue Room on Thursday, going so far as to be called “incompetent”, at the end of a parliamentary week marked by new revelations about the CHSLD Heron.
Media reports have undermined the version of the facts of the elected official responsible for the Elders file. Mme Blais had so far said he “really learned” what was happening at CHSLD Herron on April 10, 2020, through an article in the newspaper. The Gazette.
However, Radio-Canada revealed that it was informed of the emergency in this establishment on March 30, 2020, then The duty discovered that she had also been made aware of the government’s decision to place the CHSLD under guardianship the day before, March 29.
In the opinion of Liberal MP Pierre Arcand, Minister Blais therefore had the “responsibility” of informing the government crisis unit, “to take action” and “to check what was happening at the CHSLD Herron”.
They call me incompetent, but that’s a perception.
“What did the minister do on March 30, 31, April 1, in this crisis unit? How could she have been so incompetent? “Launched the chosen one at the Blue Salon.
“I’m going to stay calm,” replied M.me Blais. “They call me incompetent, but that’s a perception. She notably recalled that the government had accelerated the training of 10,000 beneficiary attendants in June 2020.
The Minister also pointed out that in March 2020, “the fire was everywhere, everywhere, everywhere”. “Emails with [la mention] “emergency”, there were like that every day, day after day, because there were outbreaks in several living environments, ”she said. In Herron’s case, the minister said she was “reassured” by the management of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
Still, the CHSLD Herron was the only CHSLD under surveillance imposed in all of Quebec, argued the Liberal André Fortin. “Don’t tell me about the entire network; there is a CHSLD under supervision, and you have not spoken to the Prime Minister about it, ”he said.
Doubts about the sincerity of the government
So far, no document or public information suggests that Prime Minister François Legault was informed of the extent of the tragedy that was playing out at the CHSLD Herron. On April 13, 2020, the head of government said he had known “for a few days” that the establishment “had a lack of staff, had people who were infected with COVID-19, even who had died of COVID-19” . But it was not until the publication of the article by The Gazette that he knew there had been a significant number of deaths, he has since maintained.
The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, was skeptical of this version of the facts. “Do you sincerely believe that the crisis cell, for 10 days, was never informed? he asked. He added that in his opinion, “ministers and members of that government are ready to hide the truth to preserve the government’s image”.
At Québec solidaire, MP Vincent Marissal declared that the CHSLD Herron crisis had become “the symbol of national shame”. “Every day that passes, what is revealed about the private CHSLD Herron, it’s terrifying, it’s revolting,” added his colleague Manon Massé.