(Trois-Rivières) The deputy and former Minister of Health, Gaétan Barrette, confirmed on Sunday that he will not seek a new mandate in 2022. The elected representative of La Pinière who says he is “serene and satisfied” with his career politician took the opportunity to express some “regrets” by admitting to having “cut too many middle and senior managers” during the implementation of his controversial health reform.
Gaétan Barrette appeared before the media on Sunday in the company of the Liberal leader, Dominique Anglade, to confirm that he will not be in the October 2022 electoral race. He will retain his seat until the next elections are called. “I am serene, I am satisfied and I take responsibility for myself”, declared Mr. Barrette in a long press conference.
Mr. Barrette left since the fall suspense on his decision while he said he was still thinking.
He explained on Sunday that the recent controversy involving him and his ex-colleague Marie Montpetit did not influence his decision which he planned to announce before Christmas, but had the effect of hastening the announcement of his departure. In particular, he did not want to overshadow the Liberal members’ convention at the end of November, when questions about his fate in the caucus became persistent.
Dominique Anglade had stripped Gaétan Barrette of his responsibilities when he found himself at the center of the controversy with the former liberal Marie Montpetit. The member for Maurice-Richard – who has since been excluded from the Liberal caucus – had criticized her colleague on Twitter, inviting him to change the tone in the file of family doctors when the latter was not responsible for health.
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Dominique anglade
The leader had not liked Mr. Barrette to comment on this health issue while the position of the political party on the subject had not yet been defined. On Sunday, she refused to confirm whether Mr. Barrette would take on new responsibilities by the end of his term. The main person said for his part that it was the decision of the head.
Dominique Anglade had also criticized Gaétan Barrette for not having informed her that he had met Prime Minister Legault’s chief of staff, Martin Koskinen, during the pandemic.
“Yes, I have some regrets”
The Liberal MP did not wait for question period to admit that he obviously feels “certain regrets” about the Act to modify the organization and governance of the health and social services network, in particular by abolishing agencies. regional – its massive reform of the network.
“When I wrote Bill 10, it was clear that it upset a lot of people. Bill 10 was made in a context of a return to balanced budgets and in this context, there is one thing that I am seeing today, it is that we have undoubtedly cut too many middle managers and senior executives, ”he explained.
I went quickly, it shook up, but I maintain that this reform was and it is still good. There are necessary adjustments to be made, particularly on the issue of middle managers.
Gaétan Barrette, former Minister of Health
The former Minister of Health also revealed that the abolition of the post of Commissioner for Health and Welfare, in 2017, “was an order”. He said “he never understood why he was asked to abolish it” or got his questions answered. “There is obviously someone above me who had poop on the heart,” he said Sunday.
The same goes for the end of the free assisted procreation program, in 2015. He welcomed the decision of the Legault government to restore a public program. “It was a literally modest economy compared to the general stake,” he said.
Gaétan Barrette went to the Federation of Specialist Physicians of Quebec at the end of his speech: “Specialist physicians, don’t worry, it is quite clear that he earns a little more than that. that they should win, ”he said. Mr. Barrette had been excluded from the negotiations with the FMSQ – of which he had been president before politics – by Philippe Couillard in 2017.
For the rest, Mr. Barrette does not close the door to anything, but emphasizes that he has never applied for the roles he has occupied. “They always came to get me,” he said.
His departure is invited to the CAQ
Member of the first team of CAQ candidates in 2012, Gaétan Barrette invited himself to the general council of François Legault’s party on Sunday with his announcement.
“It is surely not easy to do what he did in the first term because we always live difficult times when we try to change things”, commented the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé.
He has always taken the health of Quebecers to heart. We may not always have agreed on how to do things, but I do not know of a Minister of Health who did not want to do the right thing for Quebeckers.
Christian Dubé, Minister of Health and Social Services
Mr. Dubé said he “can’t wait to talk to him so that he can talk to him” because he “has always had a good relationship” with Mr. Barrette.
“Polarizing” deputy, “tough” opponent
Several tenors of the Coalition d’avenir Québec also highlighted Mr. Barrette’s passage in provincial politics. “I had several spat with Mr. Barrette during his stay in the National Assembly, but I respect the man as such who wanted to change things in health. Now, has it been any good? Certainly not, ”said François Bonnardel.
According to the Minister of Transport, Gaétan Barrette was a deputy “who to a certain extent was polarizing”, in particular with his imposing reform of the health network. The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, is not ready to use the same qualifier as his colleague.
“I do not know if I would not say polarizing, but it is someone who had a strong opinion and who wanted to shake things up”, he indicated on his arrival at the general council.
Mr. Carmant argued that the Barrette reform “which cast a far too broad cast” has left its mark on the health and social services network. “Especially in terms of human resources, it was difficult […] I think there is [eu] an impact on the youth centers, the fact of having placed them in the CISSS and the CIUSSS without valuing the work of people in youth centers, that was difficult, ”he added.
The former Minister of Health, Danielle McCann, did not want to comment directly on the departure of Mr. Barrette, but she stressed that “the task of the Minister of Health and Social Services […] is really one of the biggest jobs in government ”.
Other Caquists, such as ministers Ian Lafrenière and Andrée Laforest, underlined the imminent departure of a “formidable adversary” and “very tough” in the person of Gaétan Barrette.
“He’s someone who had his positions, his ideas, he’s someone who was persevering and hard-working,” commented Minister and parliamentary leader Simon Jolin-Barrette. “Notwithstanding Mr. Barrette’s record as Minister of Health, he is someone who is committed to Quebec and when we work so hard for Quebec, I think we should emphasize [son] public engagement, ”he said.