(Quebec) The Parti Québécois is calling on the new interim national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, to give a clear scientific opinion concerning the government’s desire to impose a “health contribution” on Quebecers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Dr Boileau will hold a first press conference on Thursday afternoon without the presence of Prime Minister François Legault.
Posted at 11:25 a.m.
On the sidelines of the PQ’s pre-session caucus in the National Assembly, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that if Public Health refuses to sign an opinion supporting the imposition of a health contribution, “we can deduce that the CAQ, faced with the chaos we experienced during the holiday season, saw fit to consult its internal polls and take one of the most popular measures to change the subject.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon also denounced once again the lack of independence of the national director of public health. Like the other opposition parties, he demands that the position occupied by the Dr Luc Boileau is entirely independent of the government.
“We realize that the public health aspect needs urgent renovations. One of these renovations, and then we are committed to doing it, is to allow scientists to speak freely and to have the independence to issue recommendations that are not based on the interests of image, of the electoral interests of the government in place,” he said.
The “twelve labors” in health
The Parti Québécois also presented a plan on Thursday to “restore the health network [en] twelve labors. The third opposition group proposes, among other things, to extend to all of Quebec “the model of multidisciplinary clinics made up of nurses and other professionals”, to increase the funding of community organizations or to review the method of remuneration. family physicians, among others.
This plan, which is not quantified, is a first step, said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon. “This morning, it is not the complete plan that we are revealing. What we are revealing is the existence, on a recurring basis, of solutions that are available and that the CAQ refuses to apply,” he said.