(Québec) Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois unreservedly denounces the model of seniors’ homes that the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) François Legault wants to accelerate, if his party obtains a second mandate on October 3. For Québec solidaire (QS), the CAQ model is doomed to failure.
Posted at 12:39 p.m.
In an editorial interview with The Press, Monday, the outgoing Prime Minister and head of the CAQ announced his intention to launch a second phase of construction of seniors’ homes. They “are expensive”, but there is nothing “too good for our elders”, said Mr. Legault.
According to solidarity co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, “François Legault misunderstood how we were going to meet the challenge of the aging population”.
“The elders tell us. What they want is to age as long as possible at home. […] Going headlong into the current model will not work,” he said.
This comparison between home care and the construction of homes for the elderly – this is not the first time it has been made – was also criticized on Monday by François Legault. “I agree, people want to stay at home as much as possible”, but a phase 2 is necessary “for people who are no longer independent and who need full-time care”, said the head caquiste at The Press. “Our goal is to have seniors’ homes for everyone, everywhere,” he added.
However, this explanation did not convince Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, who presents himself more than ever, in these last days of the campaign, as the political and often ideological alternative to the CAQ.
“Seniors’ homes are the new version of the old model. What is needed is a new model. What is this new model, the model of the future? This is a historic shift in home care and of course, at the same time, investing to renovate and improve the quality of our CHSLDs,” said the outgoing solidarity parliamentary leader.
“The seniors’ home model is a model that is essentially a communication model. This is not a model that responds to one of Québec’s greatest challenges, which is the aging of the population,” added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
In terms of home care, the CAQ proposed earlier during the election campaign to invest 900 million more during a potential second term. The bill to build a seniors’ home is $800,000 or even $1 million per room.
Québec solidaire, for its part, promises to invest 750 million to guarantee access to home care in Québec and to pay a non-taxable allowance which could reach $15,000 per year for caregivers.