In turn, the coroner who is investigating the tragedy of the CHSLDs, Géhane Kamel, is worried about the dual function of Dr Horacio Arruda, who is the national director of public health while also carrying the title of deputy minister. “It tires me out,” she said.
She is not the only one to question the compatibility of these two roles. Since the start of the pandemic, several experts have expressed serious reservations about this unique status in Canada.
Health imperatives do not necessarily correspond to the political interests of a government, whether in Quebec or elsewhere. It is clear that a person who must take both sides into account risks being placed in a position of conflict.
How can we be sure that Mr. Arruda, even if he has the best of intentions, is recommending what he believes is best for the health of the population, at the risk of harming the government, when he is directly under the authority of the Minister of Health? There must not only be independence, but also the appearance of independence. Clarifying the responsibilities of each will undoubtedly be part of the recommendations of the report that Mr.e Kamel will present next spring.
From the start of the pandemic, Prime Minister Legault chose the communication model that had served Lucien Bouchard so well during the ice storm in 1998. The tandem that the latter had formed with the CEO of Hydro- Quebec, André Caillé, had done wonders.
If the good understanding between the two men was obvious, Mr. Caillé was not a high official, but the president of a State company whose independence from the government was even considered excessive by many. At no time did he give the impression of being in anyone’s pay.
The current crisis is of a very different nature, and its duration could only have political repercussions. Therefore, it was important that there be no ambiguity about the role of each. In Ottawa, no one suspected for a single moment Justin Trudeau and Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr.D Theresa Tam, to be in cahoots.
Admittedly, the mental health of the population had to be taken into account in the management of the pandemic, but it was sometimes difficult to know to what extent a relaxation of health rules approved by Mr. Arruda met this imperative, or if the reasons were rather political in nature.
We quickly understood that his rather particular way of expressing himself could cause certain misunderstandings, but it was worrying, last spring, to hear him say that he was working “hand in hand with the government”.
The College of Physicians had just asked the government to “reconsider the reduction in health measures to take into account the warning signs and the opinion of many experts”. The national director of public health had rather invited the population not to “panic”, before changing his mind. The pandemic can evolve in an unpredictable way, but this permissiveness, while the medical profession recommended the greatest caution, left perplexed.
François Legault has publicly expressed the desire that the rules can be relaxed to allow family gatherings of 20 or 25 people at Christmas. The Prime Minister may say that he will comply with the recommendations of Public Health, Mr. Arruda knows very well that by opposing them, he will impose another embarrassing decline on his boss.
If, next week, he decides to authorize the relaxations desired by Mr. Legault, we will inevitably wonder if they are really safe or if public health is put at risk for political reasons.
The question is not whether Mr. Legault has the right to say what he thinks, but to ensure that the population maintains confidence in the recommendations of Public Health, which is essential to contain the pandemic. The Prime Minister can say whatever comes to his mind, but there are times when it is best to be silent.
Obviously, he did not learn the lesson from the retreat to which he had had to resign himself last year, namely the cancellation, two weeks after having proposed it, of the “moral contract” which would give Quebecers a break during the holiday season.
Faced with the rise in new cases and the threat posed by the Omicron variant, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, undertook to dampen the hopes of a party Christmas tree expanded. Mr. Arruda should thank him for setting the stage for him.