The opening speech delivered by François Legault was marked by a desire for change that the pandemic, with the failures, but also the advances it gave rise to, has only exacerbated. The Prime Minister, who has castigated stagnation, resignation and inaction, is working on major reforms that project his government well beyond the electoral meeting of October 2022.
Let us immediately welcome the fact that François Legault has announced that the health emergency will be lifted after children aged 5 to 11 will be vaccinated, an operation which should end in early 2022. Obviously, this announcement is subject to the evolution of the pandemic by then, but the outlook is encouraging given the high vaccination rate of the population. The timeline is set. It should be noted that the Caquists will have governed by decree for almost half of their mandate, enough to take bad lines.
In his opening speech in 2018, François Legault said that the three main priorities of his government were education, the economy and health, in that order. On Tuesday, it was health, with good reason, that was at the top of the list: the pandemic shed a harsh light on our health system.
The pandemic exposed the serious shortcomings of the health system, but also successes, believes the Prime Minister. He gave the example of online or telephone medical consultations, which became common practice in a matter of weeks. These changes are permanent, and he intends to take them further. He announced a vast decentralization of the health network to the regions and sub-regions, which is essential. The government will thoroughly review the management of human resources, “a dysfunctional system”, he agreed, where 40% of employees are part-time. The new collective agreements allow the establishment of a work organization “more humane and more efficient”, he said, insofar as unions, managers, professional orders, staff agree to change their way of doing things. It is indeed far from the cup to the lips.
Lack of access to family doctors remains a problem, and François Legault said he was starting to grow impatient. His government is not the first to want to correct the situation. He also wants to thoroughly review the delivery of home care. This also has a little air of déjà vu.
As the pandemic has shown, the health network is sorely lacking in data on its functioning. The government will focus on the digital transformation of the network, but also of the whole government. Deputy Minister Éric Caire will have his own ministry, which testifies to the importance attached to this transformation. In this regard, there are states that are much more advanced than Quebec.
François Legault did not fail to point out to what extent the education network has been shaken by the pandemic. He says he wants to hire speech therapists, psychologists and other professionals to help young people in difficulty. We still have to find this staff.
In economic terms, the pandemic has shown us that we can produce a lot of goods that we import. It is also necessary, as in the public sector, to have sufficient manpower. This is quite an order.
For the Prime Minister, the “strong national cohesion” of Quebecers and their solidarity were an asset during the pandemic. If they are enough, François Legault will need them to meet the demanding challenges that Quebec must meet.