(Quebec) Turnaround among the Liberals. The chef Dominique Anglade is withdrawing their responsibilities from her deputies Gaétan Barrette and Marie Montpetit, who found themselves at the center of a controversy this week. Mme Anglade itself takes responsibility for Health to send a strong message to its ranks.
In a press release released on Saturday evening, the Liberal Party of Quebec announced a change of responsibility among its deputies. The head of training will henceforth be the health spokesperson. Deputy Carlos Leitão will be spokesperson for matters relating to the Treasury Board, and David Birnbaum for matters relating to Canadian intergovernmental relations, two responsibilities held by Gaétan Barrette.
The names of Marie Montpetit and Gaétan Barrette do not appear in the press release. The two MPs have been at the heart of a controversy this week. The MP for Maurice-Richard, who was the Liberal spokesperson for health, criticized her colleague on Twitter, urging him to change the tone on the family doctors file.
“It is the decision of the leader, she found unacceptable what happened last week, but she wanted to take the time to do things well,” said a liberal source on Saturday.
The exit of Mme Montpetit on Twitter had forced Dominique Anglade to hold a special caucus on Wednesday evening. The next day, in front of the journalists, she had assured to have “dotted the i”, without suggesting that one or the other of its deputies would be sanctioned.
“Each spokesperson must comment on the issues that fall within their purview. […] The spokesperson for health is Marie Montpetit, ”Mr.me Anglade. “I expect that we will do all the debates in caucus, I expect that we will have impeccable solidarity,” she repeated.
Not the first incident
While Marie Montpetit was responsible for health, Gaétan Barrette, former Minister of Health and Social Services, often commented on social networks and in the media on the files that fell to her. M’s twitterme Montpetit was responding to a publication by his colleague who attacked the president of the Federation of general practitioners of Quebec, Louis Godin.
He said he had listened to “all the interviews” of Dr Godin. “He pronounces the same words as in 2015 when he made a commitment to register 85% of the population and to pass his members to the adapted access, a mode of practice by which one sees his doctor in three days. Don’t believe it, ”added Mr. Barrette.
The Liberals have yet to take a firm stand on the issue of family physicians. “We have to consider everything, all the options have to be on the table. […] The bossy, bulldozing way of government doesn’t help the situation. […] I don’t think that this way will give results, ”Dominique Anglade explained Thursday.
This is not the first time that the two MPs have been at the center of an incident. At the presessional Liberal Party caucus in Orford in September, Mr. Barrette indicated that he still wanted to be Minister of Health. “I’m going to tell you very, very formally. The answer is yes, it is my deepest wish, which will perhaps remain a wish, ”said the deputy for La Pinière.
Called to react to the words of her deputy, the chef Dominique Anglade had instead praised Mr.me Montpetit. “We have an excellent spokesperson called Marie Montpetit at Health,” she replied.