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Longueuil – As part of its 2026 Agenda campaign A strong public system: what if we dared to do it?, the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) has announced the campaign’s theme for April: “No more private health care: what if we dared to do it?”. After suggesting new sources of revenue in March to pay for a budgetary shield that would protect the funding of the public health and social services system, the APTS is saying that we also need to stop wasting public funds on an increased use of the private sector.

Québec has been liberalizing the health system for decades, particularly by developing private family medicine groups (GMFs) and increasing our reliance on private suppliers. This approach does not solve the public system’s problems – in fact, it makes them worse.

“We’re often told that calling on the private sector is a pragmatic solution to the problems of the public system. But in fact, it makes the system more fragile by draining its financial resources and taking its workforce,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “In order to protect our system with a budgetary shield, we have to stop channeling billions of dollars to the private sector.”

$5 billion lost to the public system

Contrary to the widespread claim that using the private sector is a way to save money, the evidence shows that it often ends up costing us more collectively. One reason for this is that a growing proportion of private sector services is funded by public money. Between 2014 and 2024, expenditures related to private agencies were multiplied by six, while the number of hours worked did not even triple. Add to this the services we purchased from the private sector as we outsourced lab analyses and medical imaging tests, and sent surgeries to private clinics – all of which have become more expensive – and our total bill came to $5 billion in 2024.

“This money could be used to hire staff, upgrade equipment, and improve access to care in the public system,” said APTS vice-president Émilie Charbonneau. “When the government funds the private sector in health care, it pays for companies’ services… and their profits. Until further notice, that’s not the mission Quebecers have given our government.”

April: let’s bring resources back to the public system

To improve access to services while controlling costs, the APTS believes resources should be brought back into the public health care system while the space assigned to the private sector is gradually reduced. The following priorities are proposed:

·       bring back the money spent on independent workers and purchased services;

·       gradually bring family medicine groups back into the public system;

·       put an end to physicians’ incorporation;

·       introduce a universal public drug insurance plan.

“To protect the public system, we need both new sources of income and a better use of public funds,” concluded Robert Comeau. “Reducing the role of the private sector in health care is a key step to strengthening the public system and guaranteeing that services are accessible to all Quebecers.”

The APTS

The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) represents more than 68,000 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.