News

Montréal – As the Government of Québec prepares to table its 2025-2026 budget today, the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) calls for the end of austerity measures and sufficient investment to meet the pressing needs of the public system. Facing a systemic crisis exacerbated by chronic underfunding and ineffective reforms, the union points out that over 6,000 Quebecers have stepped up in the past month to demand stable, sufficient funding by signing a letter entitled “A strong public system: what if we dared to do it?”.

A BUDGETARY SHIELD
For several years now, the APTS has been calling for a budgetary shield to protect health and social services funding from economic volatility. This mechanism would stabilize funding for the system while guaranteeing care and services to meet Quebecers’ needs. “That means that health and social services would have a secure, fixed budget that meets Quebecers’ real needs,” said APTS vice-president Émilie Charbonneau. “The budgetary shield would be a bold gesture sending a clear signal: in Québec, people’s health and well-being are absolute, non-negotiable priorities.”

FEWER CUTS, MORE POLITICAL COURAGE!
Bold fiscal measures
Once the budgetary shield is in place, it needs to be funded. The APTS notes that the government has a variety of options to achieve this, including the adoption of bold fiscal measures. A small tax levied on the assets of the wealthiest 1%, for instance, could bring in some $4 billion every year. A more progressive taxation system, which would increase the tax rate of taxpayers with salaries of $100,000 or more while reducing taxes paid by the middle class, would make it possible to reinject $2.5 billion into government coffers.

A review of physician compensation
More than half of Québec physicians are incorporated, which reduces their tax rate from 50% to 20%, or even 12%, and they benefit from strategies such as income splitting. Yet, unlike other professionals, their income is stable and comes mainly from the government. Why grant them such privileges, when, on top of everything else, their compensation has grown disproportionately in the past 20 years compared with that of other workers in the health system, and when controversial premiums – such as the premium for changing gowns – have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars? A review of the method of renumeration and better management of medical expenses would make it possible to recoup over one billion dollars for the health care system.

Detoxing from the private sector

Finally, the APTS argues that a strategy to deprivatize the health and social services system is immediately required and should be both energetic and gradual. It warns the government against expanding the use of private health care, particularly for certain medical interventions to catch up on surgical backlogs. If the government plans to accelerate the pace of surgeries using private clinics, the costs are up to 2.5 times higher than in the public system. While these surgeries are touted as “free” at the time of the intervention, their real cost will inevitably impact taxpayers’ wallets.

DARE TO DO IT
“Our health and social services system has been left to its own devices for too long, the victim of a lack of vision and insufficient funding,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “This is no time for austerity – a solution tried many times over and that has always been a disaster. It’s time for political courage and vision if we want to reverse course and finally offer universally accessible, quality care. We hope Minister Girard is up to the task.”

For more information about the APTS’s recommendations, consult the brief (in French) submitted to the finance minister as part of 2025-2026 pre-budgetary consultations. The APTS will react to the budget as tabled once the closed session is over.

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.