(Quebec) At a time when the sixth wave is rising in Quebec, Christian Dubé will make amendments from the first day of consultations to his bill which aims to put an end to the health emergency. The legislative text was strongly criticized by the opposition.
Posted at 12:00 a.m.
The Minister of Health has undertaken to specify the decrees and orders that he wishes to maintain in force, despite the end of the health emergency, until December 31, 2022. On the eve of the start of the study of the text legislative, it was still unknown precisely which decrees would be maintained, which could therefore be presented to parliamentarians on Thursday.
Mr. Dubé said two weeks ago that the Ministry would have sorted it out by March 25 at the latest.
“Minister Christian Dubé will be in committee [jeudi] to study Bill 28 and he will have the opportunity to present adjustments to Bill 28 to the opposition, which will once again demonstrate the government’s good faith, “said his cabinet on Wednesday, confirming that it was indeed lots of amendments. It is extremely rare for a legislative text to be amended before it has even been studied.
It should be remembered that Bill 28 was criticized from all sides when it was tabled by the opposition, who demanded that Quebec put it through the “shredder”.
“While experts confirm a 6and wave in Quebec, we must first put an end to the state of health emergency and, at the same time, temporarily maintain certain operational measures so that the health network maintains its capacity to vaccinate, store, screen, doing telemedicine, or even giving bonuses to workers, ”added Mr. Dubé’s cabinet.
It is assured that the “prudent and reasonable approach” of the government “will rally the various parties”.
Flexibility for orders
The Quebec Interprofessional Council (CIQ), which will be heard Thursday in committee, will plead for the maintenance of the decrees allowing professional orders to issue special authorizations to exercise to retirees and students in the health sector. They may have to leave the health network at the end of the health emergency if the decrees are not renewed in Bill 28.
“There are decrees which have given a lot of autonomy to the professional orders and which have ensured that the orders have [délivré] thousands of special authorizations to allow, among other things, to have staff in screening centers and vaccination clinics”, explains the vice-president of the CIQ, Danielle Boué. “It would be prudent for Quebec to keep these people.”
Mr. Dubé has already argued that the decrees allowing the hiring of retirees and volunteers through the “I contribute! would remain in effect until December 31.
Professional orders issued at least 5,000 special authorizations to practice to retirees or students who raised their hands to contribute during the pandemic. For retired nurses alone, the Order of Nurses of Quebec issued 3,500 authorizations. Due to the health emergency, the conditions for entering the labor market have been relaxed.
The CIQ maintains that the pandemic has made it possible to circumvent “certain paradigms” and that the government must “sustain the agility acquired and even go beyond”. We are also asking that the Professional Code be amended to “perpetuate” the decrees related to vaccination and screening, special authorizations for the return to work of retirees and the expansion of the functions of students.
We do not fear for the protection of the public. “Professionals are protected by a code of ethics, are members of orders, have liability insurance, so the public is protected, we have come to widen barriers which, over time, may become more necessary,” explains Ms.me Mud.
“A sleight of hand”, according to the APTS
For the Alliance of Professional and Technical Health and Social Services Personnel (APTS), which will also be heard in committee on Thursday, Minister Dubé’s legislative text is “a sleight of hand” that allows the government to keep exceptional powers despite the end of the health emergency. We are concerned that orders affecting working conditions, including the famous 007, are still in force.
The APTS deplores that, in its current form, the bill “creates an unacceptable precedent” which “confirms the stranglehold of the Legault government on collective agreements and working conditions”. The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec will also be in committee, as will the Barreau du Québec, which expressed reservations last week.
The Associate Deputy Minister of Health and responsible for the vaccination campaign, Daniel Paré, will be the first to appear before the commission.
With the collaboration of Tommy Chouinard, The Press