Sophie Kuijper Dickson, LJI Reporter

Outaouais’ healthcare provider (CISSSO) has formalized a collaboration agreement with a group of healthcare workers and community partners in the Pontiac to ensure greater local input on matters that affect residents of the region and improve accessibility, continuity and quality of services across the territory.
The group, which CISSSO refers to as a territorial committee, consists of 22 members, including CISSSO’s Pontiac director Nicole Boucher-Larivière.
Available members met at the CLSC in Shawville on Thursday morning to sign the final mandate agreement.
“The idea is that people [on this committee] will have responsibility to make sure we answer to the community and stay accountable to the population,” Boucher-Larivière said, noting the group has been meeting for about a year to determine its mandate.
She explained the committee will be critical in identifying healthcare priorities for the region, brainstorming strategies for developing those priorities, and sharing input on how limited resources should be allocated.
“There have been multiple evolutions of health and social services law so now we’re going back towards proximity,” Boucher-Larivière noted. “It took a certain time but this is the first step we’re taking towards trying to bring that back.”
The Pontiac region is the first in the Outaouais to sign such an agreement with the CISSS de l’Outaouais since services were centralized in 2015.
Josey Bouchard, founding member of local healthcare advocacy group Pontiac Voice, is one of the members of the new territorial committee.
“It’s basically consulting and sharing a little bit of what’s happening here, and if things aren’t working well, to advise on what they can do to try and make it better,” Boucher said, describing what she understands her role on the committee to be.
“I think it’s nice that at least they have our opinion of what’s happening. And hopefully it helps put a little more pressure on whoever is making the decisions.”
But, Bouchard said, she does not expect the collection of community leaders will have any real decision making power.
“As far as power, that I know of, we have none. It’s more of a consulting role.”
“We’re sort of a moral support – it sort of gives [Nicole] a bit more credit as to what she’s bringing forth to the higher ups.”

The committee’s other 21 members are CISSSO board of directors member Rémi Bertrand, Dr. Serge Boucher, Dr. John Wooton, MRC Pontiac warden Jane Toller, MRC Pontiac director general Kim Lesage, Municipality of Pontiac mayor Roger Larose, Pontiac user committee president Jennifer Larose, healthcare advocate Josey Bouchard, Chamber of Commerce president Sébastien Bonnerot, SADC general director Rhonda Perry, seniors’ representative Richard Gratton, Dr. Isabelle Gagnon, Lisa Falasconi from the English school board, Denis Rossignol from the French school service centre, pharmacist Marc Aufranc, Michel Vallières from the Table de développement social du Pontiac, Shelley Heaphy from the Connexions Resource Centre, Bouffe Pontiac director Kim Laroche, Sara-Lynn McCann from Quyon’s Maison de la famille, Karim El Kerch from Carrefour jeunesse-emploi du Pontiac, and Joanne Dubois from CISSSO.
The group plans to meet four times a year.