Opposition parties accuse the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) of embezzling public funds by using the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Dominique Savoie, to “fine-tune its electoral platform” in health.
“The CAQ uses and confuses the interests of Quebec with those of the party,” said the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, about the Savoie report suggesting a reform of the health system. Mr. Duhaime criticizes the government for “hijacking state resources to fine-tune its electoral platform”. He summons the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, to “account for this expense” and to ensure that “the taxpayers are reimbursed”.
On Wednesday, the report, entitled Renewed governance of the health and social services network, was made public. Deputy Minister Savoie had been mandated for this purpose by Minister Dubé, when the Health Plan was unveiled last March. In particular, it recommends favoring local management. It also proposes creating a neutral entity to improve coordination and “optimize access to health care and social services”. Mr. Dubé is committed to implementing all of these recommendations.
According to PQ spokesperson for health, Joël Arseneau, the Savoie report is “uncomfortable in substance and form”. “The CAQ uses the public service to put a little flesh around the bone of its electoral platform,” laments the Parti Québécois MP.
On the subject of the reform itself, Mr. Arseneau believes that the government is “wrong way” by adding a hundred middle managers. “For us, local management and access to decentralized healthcare means being accountable to users and communities and not to an increasing number of high-ranking officials,” he maintains.
For his part, Vincent Marissal, spokesperson for Québec solidaire en santé, affirms that the CAQ government wants to “look good” by proposing this decentralization of health in view of the next elections. “It is clear that its commitments are far from sufficient,” he says.
A report “for all political parties”
The report recommending health reform “was thought out and written by Deputy Minister Savoie herself,” retorts Minister Dubé’s press attaché, Marjaurie Côté-Boileau. “It was made public as soon as it was available, for Quebecers and for all political parties,” she said.
The recommendations of the Savoie report “come from the community, the network, the field, but above all, from independent reports that have been produced in recent years and during the mandates of previous governments,” argues Ms. Côté-Boileau. The latter affirms that the opposition parties “cannot deny that changes must be made to improve the health network”.
Marjaurie Côté-Boileau recalls that Ms. Savoie had also produced a report in 2020 on the management of the pandemic in Montreal. “The recommendations had been implemented and had greatly helped the management of the following waves of COVID-19”, underlines the press officer.