Dr Julien’s burnout factory | The Press

For the second time in five years, the father of social pediatrics, Gilles Julien, is at the center of a journalistic investigation of The Press which shows that his Foundation devours the psyche of employees who feel persecuted by the star doctor.

In these two surveys conducted by Isabelle Hachey, nearly twenty sources confessed their torments, after having experienced one form or another of psychological harassment – ​​repeated mood swings, treatments of silence, etc. – from the D^r Julien and his wife, Hélène Sioui Trudel.

In 2019, my colleague collected testimonies from around ten former managers and employees who had all been deeply affected by their time at Fondation D^r Julian^⁠1.

One would have thought that after these revelations five years ago, the climate at the Foundation – largely financed by public funds and donations from thousands of Quebecers – would have improved. One might have thought that the D^r Julien would have done some introspection to understand his share of responsibility in this debacle. We would therefore have thought that Gilles Julien would have managed to modify his behavior and his words, after the shattering investigation of The Press in 2019. Ditto for his wife.

One might think, hope for that. We would be wrong: a second investigation of The Press^⁠2 clearly shows that the D^r Julien has not changed, far from the spotlight. Since 2019, no less than four general directors, among others, have succeeded one another at the head of the D Foundation^r Julien, sign of a rotten climate.

A dismissed social worker, Antoine Quinty-Falardeau, who worked at the Garage à musique, one of the three social pediatrics centers of the Fondation D^r Julien, testified: “He started to no longer love me. He went so far as to no longer greet me, there was no more eye contact, he ignored me, I was a ghost, suddenly. »A psychotherapist fired by the D^r Julien: “At the beginning, he was very warm. As the weeks went by, it got colder. »

For six years, former Montreal mayor Laurent Blanchard was president of the board of directors of Ruelle d’Hochelaga, a social pediatrics center of the Fondation D^r Julian. He threw in the towel, speaking of the “diktats” of the Foundation: “How is it that such a great cause, which collects so much money from different sources, foundations, donations from patrons, etc., How is it that they have not succeeded in creating a model organization? »

I add this nugget: the last CEO of the D Foundation^r Julien was fired on May 22, according to a source from my colleague Hachey, for having… requested an external investigation into the work climate at the Foundation (another report was duly produced in 2023).

In short, in the 2024 survey as in that of 2019, Isabelle Hachey investigated the working climate in the good works of the D^r She and Julien found the same poisonous particles. The reporting is solid, based on several sources, on recordings.

A dismissed employee who alleges psychological harassment to justify himself or to take revenge? That could be. Two ? Probably. An organizational leader who gets angry from time to time, who says abruptly here and there? It could also be…

But in the case of D^r Gilles Julien, two journalistic investigations carried out by The Press five years apart show – with nearly 20 sources – that he himself is a big part of the problem in his organization which is eating up employees at high speed. One would have thought that at the very least, the good D^r Julien would have remained a little embarrassed after Isabelle Hachey’s second investigation: what is presented in the investigation is at best a management mismanagement, at worst systemic psychological harassment.

But we would be wrong: as if he really believed that he is a saint who walks on water, Gilles Julien went to Paul Arcand’s microphone not to clarify his role in the shameful debacle of the Foundation’s working climate who carries his name^⁠3but to… smear the journalist.

The reactions of the “good D^r Julien” of 2019 were echoed in his reactions of 2024: everyone is wrong, everyone is incompetent, he has nothing to reproach himself for, ever….

This is rubbish, and if Gilles Julien has decided to drink the Kool-Aid of his own legend, that’s his business. But the government of Quebec (read: Suzanne Roy, Minister of Families), which guaranteed in June 2023 aid of 58 million over four years to the Fondation D^r Julien should ask himself if he is not financing a burn-out factory.

1. Read the 2019 article “Crisis at the Fondation du D^r Julian »

2. Read the article “The D^r Julien once again in turmoil »

3. Listen to the D’s interview^r Gilles Julien at 98.5