Quebec Government Pushes Through Bill 10
The Quebec Liberal government suspended parliamentary procedure to push through their administrative health care reform Bill 10. The government felt 77 hours of debate was sufficient and used their majority to shut down the debate and send it to the National Assembly which passed Bill 10 just after midnight on Saturday, February 07, 2015 with 62 for and 50 against.
The risks of rushing Bill 10 are the uncertainty it creates not only in the administration of health care services but also in which languages services will be provided. Bill 10 will effect all Quebecers for generations to come , it will introduce profound changes with the administration of our health institutions despite this Health Minister Barrette has decided that he alone is the one who knows and decides what is best for his people. The Era of Emperor Gaétan Barrette has arrived!
“It’s such a huge reorganization of the health system that it buries the individual, it buries the client, it buries the patient, it buries the individual institutions and their boards into one, big, mega-reorganized system,” Liberal MNA Clifford Lincoln, CBC‘s Radio Noon.
Bill 10, 101
- Bill 10 establishes 28 regional boards called CISSS (Centres intégrés de santé et de services sociaux) which will replace the current individual boards of institutions and hospitals.
- Communities and especially anglophones fear they will lose control over the institutions they help build.
- The directors for the 28 regional boards will be paid a salary and be hand picked by Health Minister Barrette. Currently the directors of the boards are on a voluntary basis.
- Minister Barrette claims the restructuring will save the system $200 million without providing specifics or a breakdown for the savings.
Health Minister Barrette’s claim regarding the benefits of Bill 10 unfortunately remind me of the claims made by the proponents of the Montreal City Borough Merges, and history showed us how well they turned out! Manuel Fernandes VP MUHCEU-CSN OH&S