Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
GASPÉ – The Gaspé Peninsula Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS) is facing a significant budget cut, reducing its funding for infrastructure maintenance and improvements from $24 million to $15 million this year. This follows similar reductions at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles and the school service centres.
“For the past five or six years, we’ve had our foot on the accelerator and we have done a lot of renovations and upgrades because the budgets were available. We have a good team in the technical department and we were able to take advantage of room for maneuvering that was not used in other establishments,” says President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Pelletier.
The Gaspé Peninsula CISSS carried out several transformations because its team was very efficient, which was recognized by the Ministry of Health, according to Mr. Pelletier. This was an advantage that the regional network had over others across Quebec.
However, the room for maneuvering is no longer available. “We have to slow down and restrict ourselves to our annual plan without being able to get ahead of anything else. We have work started in 2023 that should last two years. In 2024-2025, we had a program and now we have to balance the budget with provisions that have disappeared. There are projects in the program that will have to be delayed,” notes Mr. Pelletier.
All institutions within the health network are affected. “Here, we will go with the most urgent,” he says.
This reduction in funding comes amid similar cuts announced in other government sectors. For example, the region’s school service centres are seeing a $7.7 million cut from their capital budgets for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
The René-Lévesque School Service Centre is the most affected with a $6 million cut, seeing the envelope go from $16.6 million to approximately $10 million this year.
Like the CISSS, the school service centre must not only review the work planned for the coming year, but also for the next five years, prioritizing projects that have an impact on health and safety and the sustainability of buildings.
At the Chic-Chocs School Service Centre, the reduction is $1.7 million.
The Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles also faces significant cuts. Initially expecting $7.8 million for 2024-2025, it was surprised to find its funding capped at $2.2 million until March 31, 2025. When factoring in specific project funds, a total of $4.6 million is now authorized.
The Cegep director, Yolaine Arseneau, was worried because the spending cap meant that the institution had no room to maneuver if an event occurred that was not anticipated, such as a leaking roof or a furnace that failed.