The Parti Québécois (PQ) is backtracking on its plans for Santé Québec. Noovo Info reported that Health Minister Marie-Karlynn Laflamme said Tuesday the government now wants to “transform” the government agency rather than abolish it. The government currently intends to examine “what works well and what doesn’t work as well” at Santé Québec. The PQ is set to contact the agency “in the coming days,” she added. As recently as late October, the new minister had nevertheless assured that Santé Québec “was no longer on her government’s agenda.” Laflamme had made a point of emphasizing that there were still “some good things” within Santé Québec and that some of them would be retained, clarifying that the PQ did not want to impose a major overhaul of the health-care system. “We want to hold accountable those who have already been appointed by the government to do so. For us, Santé Québec is an unnecessary layer of management,” the minister said, noting that she had received several comments about the system’s bureaucracy. “One objective of this term is to decentralize decision-making and regionalize it as well, and that means putting an end to the top-down approach in Quebec.” The proposal raises many questions for the Official Opposition. “We said from the start that launching yet another reorganization of the healthcare system was a bad idea, and that abolishing Santé Québec would not free up the promised $40 million,” wrote Liberal health critic Monsef Derraji on social media. “What decisions will be made closer to the front lines? Is the government keeping its promise to reinvest at least $40 million in health care? If so, where will the money come from?” With files from Noovo Info
