The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, supports the demands of the demonstrators who have occupied Ottawa for nearly three weeks and those who intend to converge on Quebec next weekend.
Passing through Montreal on Thursday, Mr. Duhaime said he agreed with the demand of Ottawa demonstrators to lift the vaccination requirement for cross-border truckers. This was the original demand of the protesters before the whole thing became a catch-all, going as far as demanding the departure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Conservative leader, however, sought to spare the goat and the cabbage, denouncing the Emergency Measures Act invoked by Prime Minister Trudeau while saying he opposes civil disobedience. “The injunctions must be respected. They should stop honking. I think protesters, if they want to help their cause, have to obey the law. But he didn’t say they should leave downtown Ottawa.
As for the demonstrators who want to take over Quebec, he will not join them, but says he agrees with their request to lift the state of health emergency and welcomes the restraint that Mr. Duhaime believes they have shown there. at two weeks.
“They acted in a festive atmosphere, in a peaceful way. I hope we will have the same calm and the same festive spirit at the rendezvous this weekend. »
He even believes that the protests had the desired effect. “Governments are starting to move and I think it’s no stranger to these types of protests. »
A “healthy duo” not quite in agreement
Éric Duhaime was in the metropolis to present his “health duo” in anticipation of the election next fall. Doctor Karim Elayoubi, general practitioner, emergency doctor at the Lachute hospital and owner of a private clinic, will be a candidate for the Conservative nomination in the riding of Argenteuil. For his part, Dr. Roy Eappen, endocrinologist and internist, will be a candidate for the party’s nomination in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
The press conference, however, shed light on some disputes between the Conservative leader and his medical candidates who advise him on health matters. Thus, Mr. Duhaime reiterated his opposition to any coercive measure. “I think that the vulnerable should have been protected and people should have been left to live more freely and that the government has a role to recommend, to inform the population, but not to use coercive measures,” he said. .
Doctor Elayoubi, however, expressed the opinion that “in a first wave, we do not know what is happening, we agree with the fact that, yes, it takes strict, severe confinement and that we do not have no choice. Asked about the measures taken in December when the Omicron wave overwhelmed the health network, he added that “yes, it takes measures to ensure that the hospital system is protected”, adding that he did not not “a completely clear idea about that”.
Mask for children and abortion
As for his boss’s request to immediately lift all sanitary measures, including the wearing of a mask at school, he did not want to come forward. “I’m not here to replace public health personally,” he said.
However, questioned on this same question by The Canadian Press on January 27, he had affirmed that “the procedural mask minimizes the transmission of the virus” and that “on a scientific level, at the time when there is a peak in the epidemic, wearing a mask is completely appropriate”.
Dr. Eappen, for his part, has already expressed his opposition to abortion in the past. He reaffirmed that position on Thursday, but added that he did not intend to seek such legislation. Éric Duhaime reacted by saying that divergent points of view were welcome in his party, but that he had no intention of touching on the right to abortion.
Increase the role of the private sector in health
The two doctors outlined the Conservative health platform. This provides for the maintenance of the universality of the plan, but a significant increase in the role of the private sector which would work in complementarity with the public system. The regimes of Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and Germany were cited as examples.
“We are going to be the only ones during this election campaign to propose a real reconstruction of the Quebec health system, which involves three things in particular: decentralization; competition in the network; and also, of course, the addition of the private sector”, declared Éric Duhaime.
The Conservative Party also intends to increase the number of health admissions to university in order to increase the number of doctors and to compensate for the fact that new doctors, men and women, no longer accept to take on excessive workloads. of their predecessors.
He also suggests allowing doctors to practice mixed public and private practice, which is currently not allowed, and adjusting hospital budgets based on the services rendered and not on their historical budgets, an idea promoted by several politicians.
Finally, the party proposes to allow the purchase of additional insurance for access to private medical services, to expand the roles of other professionals, such as nurses or optometrists, and to facilitate the recognition of foreign diplomas.