Sophie Kuijper Dickson, LJI Journalist
Outaouais’ public health and social services network (CISSSO) learned recently it will have to pinch pennies for the next few months to meet new budget demands from the province’s healthcare authority.
Earlier this month, Santé Québec, the Crown corporation set to take over management of Quebec’s healthcare services as of Dec. 1, announced that all regional networks would have to balance their budgets by the end of the fiscal year.
This means CISSSO will have to cut its projected spending by $90 million, or 6 per cent of its annual budget, by Mar. 2025.
“Given the state of public finances, a request was made in the autumn to eliminate all deficits for all institutions by 2024-2025,” said health ministry spokesperson Marie-Christine Patry in an email to THE EQUITY. “All institutions are required to achieve and maintain a balanced budget.”
CISSSO did not offer an interview before publication deadline, but in an interview with Radio-Canada last week, the health network’s president Marc Bilodeau assured that while the the cuts will pose a significant challenge for the network, no existing jobs will be touched. Instead, he said, the network is considering a freeze on hiring administrative personnel.
Pontiac MNA André Fortin, also healthcare critic for the official opposition, rejects the idea that $90 million can be saved simply by pausing all administrative hires until the new budget year.
“There are not $90 million in administrative cuts in the CISSS de l’Outaouais,” Fortin told THE EQUITY on Monday.
He said other regional healthcare networks have already announced how they plan to reduce their projected spending, including removing job postings for nurses, social workers and orderlies, reducing evening shifts in long-term care facilities, and pausing the development of infrastructure projects like youth centres.
“We know that everywhere across Quebec, but particularly in the Outaouais and even more so in the Pontiac, we have to try to attract nurses, so we can’t afford to suspend job postings. We need every tool at our disposal to attract healthcare workers,” Fortin said.
“The underlying point here is that the region doesn’t need to cut $90 million from its healthcare budget. It needs to add $90 million, at least.”
Jean Pigeon, spokesperson for healthcare advocacy coalition SOS Outaouais, said the cuts to CISSSO’s budget are concerning and underscore “the chronic underfunding of healthcare in our region.”
“These cuts are not just a financial adjustment; they represent a significant setback for a region already grappling with structural inequities,” Pigeon said. “With $181 million still needed to meet the provincial average for healthcare funding, this decision perpetuates a cycle of insufficient services and growing disparities.”
Fortin echoed this point.
“The Outaouais and everybody in Quebec City has publicly agreed to this, that the Outaouais is underfunded in terms of healthcare by about $200 million,” he said.
“So for the region to be treated just like every other region when it comes to the cuts that are requested by government seems counterproductive at this point.”