Carl Hager
Local Journalism Initiative

GATINEAU – Santé Quebec, the official operator of Quebec’s health system, began operating on December 1, more than a year after it was created by the provincial government.

The local arm of Santé Quebec, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO), is already mired in controversy as it has been ordered to cut $90 million from its current budget, which expires in four months. Geneviève Biron, executive director of Santé Quebec, has ordered hospitals province-wide to find over $1 billion in combined savings from their operational budgets in order to combat the soaring provincial deficit.

“The CEOs of CISSSO’s health institutions weren’t able to plan for these cuts, so they’ll have to do last minute budget cutting. We know services to the public will be negatively affected,” said André Fortin, Pontiac MNA and Liberal health critic.

Jean Pigeon of SOS Outaouais, a coalition of Outaouais organizations and citizens who speak out and share concerns about the current state of the health and social services system, said Quebec is reducing the capacity to provide necessary resources for health care. “The Outaouais has been underfunded by successive Quebec governments by almost $200 million a year,” he added.

However, in the creation of Santé Quebec, bureaucrats who transferred from the Ministry of Health to Santé Quebec received a 10% pay increase.

Fortin said Santé Quebec is based on a model previously tried and disbanded in Alberta. “Rather than saying how the agency wants to improve health care delivery, Santé Quebec is focused on reducing even more money from health care operations.”

The government recently floated the idea of reserving family doctors for residents with health problems, an idea that was shelved due to backlash. Fortin said the government is flailing at fixing a very broken system, hiding behind the cover of Santé Quebec, which is making budget cuts in tune with government policies.

Doctors, community groups, and many elected officials criticize the centralization of health services directed by Santé Quebec. “Unfortunately, Santé Quebec’s idea of best practices might suit some areas, but may not be appropriate in outlying regions like the Pontiac. It takes local control out of the hands of medical practitioners who best know their patients,” said Fortin.

West Quebec has long suffered from its proximity to Ontario where better pay and working conditions continually draw health workers away. Quebec is currently experiencing a shortage of 10,000 nurses. “Only Quebec hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic surgery wait times, a clear sign the system isn’t managed well,” concluded Fortin​.