The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lionel Carmant, dismissed out of hand on Thursday the request of psychologists from the Quebec network who are calling for their own union. These professionals believe, however, that it is “the solution” to attracting and retaining psychologists in the public sector and thus reducing mental health waiting lists.
The creation of a union is “not on the table for the moment”, affirmed Minister Carmant. “We want that [les psychologues] work with us and we want to improve services,” he added, during a press briefing on another topic. However, the elected official underlined the importance of enhancing the role of these professionals by promoting their professional autonomy.
This refusal of the government is equivalent to saying that it “is not so important to have psychologists in the public”, laments Karine Gauthier, president of the Coalition of psychologists of the Quebec public network (CPRPQ). “Without the creation of a union, we won’t be able to increase the number of psychologists in the network, which is shrinking,” she says.
Currently, psychologists in the public network are unionized with about a hundred other trades. It is therefore difficult for them to highlight the issues specific to this profession, explains Ms. Gauthier. “We are the only ones in the union who have a compulsory doctorate, which means that we start working around 30, underlines the psychologist. There must be a salary adjustment. »
The wage gap between the public and private sector is creating a veritable “exodus” from the network, deplores Karine Gauthier. “The more our colleagues go to the private sector, the heavier the burden becomes, the more demoralizing it is and the more psychologists feel a lack of recognition”, she explains.
By 2023, the CPRPQ predicts a shortage of 895 psychologists in the Quebec network. Last Sunday, the association also organized a demonstration in Montreal, in order to launch a cry from the heart.
“Crying” needs
According to Karine Gauthier, the current needs in mental health are “glaring”. Within the public network, waiting times before being able to meet a psychologist range from 6 to 24 months, she points out. “There is a mental health crisis,” says Ms. Gauthier. But it’s as if Minister Carmant refuses to see it. »
Some 20,000 people are waiting to obtain mental health services in the Quebec network. But this number is an underestimate, nuance Karine Gauthier. It excludes people who refuse to put themselves on a waiting list, because they “already know that they will not have the services they need”, says the psychologist.
With Violette Cantin