QUEBEC CITY – The Minister of Seniors and Caregivers, Marguerite Blais, said she learned on March 9, 2020, after returning from vacation, that seniors would be potentially more vulnerable to COVID-19.
But, according to what emerges from her testimony before coroner Géhane Kamel on Friday, she was more or less worried about it, confident that CHSLDs were “used” to managing outbreaks.
On several occasions before the coroner, Ms. Blais argued that CHSLDs had a culture of infection prevention and control.
“Madam Coroner, CHSLDs are known to manage outbreaks. This is not the first time that there have been outbreaks in CHSLDs, and it will not be the last.
She placed herself in the context of the time. “I am convinced that we are taking care of it. (…) For me, CHSLDs know how to manage outbreaks,” she said.
The CEOs of the CISSSs and CIUSSSs were also responsible for sourcing personal protective equipment, according to her.
Either way, she said, “no one believed it was going to hit living environments like this; (…) we believe that it will affect hospitals”.
“That’s the reality,” added Ms. Blais, pointing out that as of March 22, 2020, only two CHSLDs had positive cases of COVID-19.
Yet three witnesses — ex-health minister Danielle McCann, her former deputy minister and ex-national public health director Horacio Arruda — said they knew about the risks as early as January.
“You understand my astonishment, reacted coroner Kamel. There are testimonies that have come to say the complete opposite of what you are saying this morning.
Blais changes his version of the facts
Was Minister Blais formally involved in the discussions, the coroner wanted to know. Was her voice heard or, as she told a reporter in September 2020, she wasn’t being listened to?
“Everyone knows that when it’s time to talk, I talk,” replied Marguerite Blais. If I had not been heard by the Prime Minister, we would never have had so many investments to improve care for seniors.”
So how to explain his past statements?
“I didn’t have the necessary perspective,” she said. I was in extreme emotions. (…) This interview does not reflect the objectivity that I have today.
During this exchange, Me Kamel indicated that she understood that the minister had to show “loyalty” to her political party.
In mourning
Before beginning her testimony, Ms. Blais made a statement. She expressed her deepest condolences to the families of seniors who died in CHSLDs.
“People are in mourning; so am I,” she said.
She said the deaths of thousands of seniors in CHSLDs in 2020 had not left her “indifferent” and that she considered the coroner’s inquest to be “fundamental” to improving care for seniors.
The 71-year-old minister acknowledged that she had been at the forefront of the crisis, and that she owed the families to “take responsibility” and come and testify at the investigation.
Ms. Blais explained that she was unable to come and testify in November because of her professional exhaustion. “I was too emotional,” she said.
His testimony continues Friday. The lawyer who represents six families of seniors who died in CHSLDs in the spring of 2020 will also have the opportunity to question him.