(Quebec) Minister Christian Dubé’s “health plan” is nothing more than the “electoral program” of the Coalition avenir Québec, the opposition deplored on Tuesday. She accuses the Legault government of breaking its promise that every Quebecer has a family doctor.
Posted at 1:21 p.m.
The opposition parties have cut to pieces the recovery plan for the health network, presented with great fanfare Tuesday in Montreal by Minister Christian Dubé.
“It’s an election program, paid advertising, an hour-long television ad where we arrive, no figure, no objective,” said Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Vincent Marissal of Québec solidaire had similar comments: “This is proof that it is an electoral program that they are testing a few months before the elections. It’s not a plan for reorganization, refoundation or whatever because at the moment it’s based on wishful thinking.”
For the liberal leader, Dominique Anglade “the elephant gave birth to a mouse”.
According to the opposition, Mr. Dubé’s plan is an “electoral program” of the CAQ which essentially takes up the unfulfilled promises of 2018. The Legault government promises to extend the formula of the front-line access window developed in Bas-Saint-Laurent elsewhere in Quebec by the end of the summer. According to Mr. Dubé, a patient could have access to a professional between 36 and 72 hours, depending on the need.
“Here is a spectacular U-turn from the CAQ. They campaigned, in 2018, on a doctor for everyone, ”criticized Mr. Marissal.
The Parti Québécois, for its part, doubts that this kind of counter will solve the problem of access to the first line when more than a million Quebecers are currently without a family doctor. “It’s not the counter, the key is: are there professionals to take the patient and, above all, are there professionals to follow up with the patients? », launched Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
Liberal MP Monsef Derraji finds it hard to explain why Quebec did not extend the Lower Laurentian model earlier than a few months before the elections. Mr. Derraji points to the slow progress of Bill 11, which aims to increase access to the front line. The opposition parties also fear a parliamentary traffic jam because of Minister Dubé’s numerous bills.
“Bill 11, the Minister of Health uses it to bring order to the [Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec]. For me, that’s it, because if he had the will to settle it, we finished the consultations in February. Why are we still waiting before starting the study of Bill 11? asked the MP for Nelligan.
Quebec solidaire also asks to indicate in Bill 11 the intentions to extend a one-stop access through the network since for the moment, the legislative text “does not say that”.