Government will invoke closure to ensure hurried adoption of Dubé reform | Quebecers’ health and social safety net in jeopardy

December 08, 2023

Longueuil – The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) has responded to the upcoming brutal adoption of Bill 15 under closure. The bill will lead to the advent of the Santé Québec agency, which will be the largest employer in Canada with over 300,000 employees.

“Biggest centralization operation of the health care system in Québec history”

“Even today, I’m finding it very difficult to understand why we’re going this way when past experience should tell us to move in exactly the opposite direction,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “The Barrette reform is understood today to have been a colossal failure, mostly because concentration of power led to the development of a heavy and inefficient central bureaucracy that makes decisions significantly slower on the ground and undermines the effectiveness of care and services. Choosing to go even further in this direction is just beyond belief.”

Democracy takes a knock throughout the health and social services system

“From the beginning, the APTS was intent on collaborating to improve the bill,” said APTS vice-president Émilie Charbonneau. “We went through the process in good faith, but we became aware that it was producing mixed results. A reform can only work if it’s accepted by people in the setting where it’s going to be implemented. To me, using closure seems inconceivable for a bill whose stated objective is to improve the health and social services system. Where the Dubé reform is concerned, we have consensus on one thing only: that there is no consensus!”

Transition period will be crucial

“Holding forums during the transition period will be absolutely essential,” concluded Robert Comeau. “The survival of our system is at stake. Sitting in a corner making up laws and doing just what he likes is irresponsible and disrespectful, especially when Quebecers’ health is involved as well as the social safety net that almost everyone depends on. Right now, nobody knows what the real consequences of this reform will be. Mr. Dubé is removing oxygen from a system that’s already on life support.”

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