Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Centre Intégré de Santé et de Services Sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO) has been granted an exemption to the law governing the use of personnel placement agencies or independent labour to fill staffing shortages over the summer.

The Quebec government passed legislation to phase out the use of staffing agencies within the public healthcare system in 2023. Under section 669 of the Act respecting the governance of the health and social services system, service providers must apply to the Ministry of Health for an exemption on exceptional grounds to call on private agencies to fill staffing vacancies. 

A spokesperson for the CISSSMO’s communications and public affairs department has confirmed the regional health authority made this request earlier in the year.

“This exemption has been granted to the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest for a maximum of 51.3 full-time equivalents (FTE), the majority of which are evening, night, and weekend shifts for the period between May 31 and September 30, 2025,” said the spokesperson in an email.

Historically, there is an increase in staffing pressure on health care providers across the province during the summer months due to staff vacations. The exemption provided to the CISSSMO pertains solely to the number of FTE positions and does not correspond to a budget increase. The CISSSMO is also not required to fill all the available positions.

“The exemption is reserved for exceptional situations. It is a last-resort solution to avoid service disruptions if internal measures, such as contingency plans or overtime, prove ineffective or insufficient,” explained the spokesperson.

According to the CISSSMO, only 0.07 per cent of the hours worked since April 1 have been performed by independent workers.