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Québec City – The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) is responding to the 2025-2026 Québec budget by denouncing inadequate investments to ensure sufficient funding for the health and social services system. The government has provided for an increase of only 3%, even though Quebecers’ needs demand an increase of at least 5%, a gap that is cause for concern and that could weaken a public system that is already under pressure.

“There’s a shortfall of at least $1.25 billion to meet growing public needs,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “Santé Québec will have to pursue its inception with one hand tied behind its back, forced to make cuts. Services will continue to deteriorate, waiting lists will grow and the private system will take up more space, while we continue to deny Quebecers accessible, high-quality care and services.”

The union, the main representative of social services workers, nonetheless points to certain announced investments to strengthen services that have long been neglected. These include $145 million for growing youth protection needs, as well as $35 million to increase housing support for people with specific needs, whether an intellectual or physical disability, or mental health or autism spectrum disorders.

“These investments are good news for youth in difficulty and vulnerable people,” said Robert Comeau. “But, to achieve the desired results, we need to give Santé Québec the means to fulfil its mission. You can’t develop new services when there’s a hiring freeze or job cuts throughout the public system.”

The APTS reiterates the importance of adopting a budgetary shield to protect the public system from economic volatility and political uncertainty. It also proposes concrete solutions for funding it, including taxing the assets of the richest 1%, ending physician incorporation and reviewing how physicians are remunerated. Taken together, these measures would inject an annual $5 billion into health and social services.

Public services: a neglected economic lever

Given the difficult economic and political contexts, the Government of Québec is postponing rebalancing the budget, relying mainly on support to businesses ($5.4 billion) and infrastructure spending ($11 billion). The APTS points out that investing in public services is also a powerful economic lever that the CAQ is neglecting in its response to the current crisis, with only $772 million in additional measures in health and social services.

“Protecting the economy doesn’t just mean investing in infrastructure, a male-dominated sector,” said the president of the APTS, which represents 85% women. “It also means investing in public services, where jobs are held largely by women, who make an essential contribution to the economic and social vitality of Québec. They go hand in hand.”

Finally, the APTS points out that the best way to control health and social service spending in the long term is to reinforce the public system. The growing privatization of care and services generates additional costs and compromises access. An energetic but gradual deprivatization in health and social services is crucial. We urgently need to remove the private sector from the public system and make massive investments in prevention, particularly by focusing on diagnostic services (for instance, laboratories and medical imaging), physical rehabilitation and home care to reduce pressure on the system and ensure high-quality care in the long term.

The APTS

The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) represents more than 65,000 members who play a key role in ensuring that health and social services institutions run smoothly. Our members provide a wide range of services for all Quebecers, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support, and prevention services.