Nurses' union decries Quebec's plan to rely more heavily on private sector

A Quebec health-care union is sounding the alarm over comments made by Premier François Legault about opening the door further to the private sector in health care. 

On Tuesday, Legault said the Health Ministry will soon be sharing a plan to overhaul the health-care system, and that private health care has an important role to play. 

"I would say that about 80 per cent of the solutions to improve the health system go through the public, but there is about 20 per cent that goes through the private sector," Legault said during question period at the National Assembly. 

He said some things, such as treating cataracts or knee surgeries, are easier to do in the private sector.

The president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), the largest nurses union in the province, said these comments made by the premier are "extremely worrisome" and will only further weaken the public network. 

"The first goal of the government is to reduce waiting lists that have been very, very long since the start of the pandemic," said union president Julie Bouchard.

"Now, even if we want to reduce those lists we are lacking health professionals. They are lacking throughout the health network [...] Is the private sector the solution? The answer is no, because we are dividing, once again, the public system."

Representatives of the FIQ and its private sector counterpart, the FIQP, met with the media on Tuesday to share their expectations of next week's provincial budget.

The unions are calling for more funding for at-home care, elderly care and a law on nurse-patient ratios.

They also want improved working conditions for health professionals in the public sector, particularly an end to mandatory overtime in order to make the public network attractive again.

Private solution 'just a smoke screen': Opposition

MNA Joël Arseneau, health critic for the Parti Québécois, says the reality is that the private sector risks sinking the public network.

"Every health-care professional who goes to the private sector is obviously missing from the public system. The private solution is just a smoke screen," he said. 

Moreover, Arseneau says Legault fails to mention the nursing shortage in Quebec, which is "directly related to the interference with the resources of private agencies."

Earlier in the day, during a news conference, the Québec Solidaire (QS) party also called for a stronger defence of the public system against the private sector "who look at the health-care system like children in front of a candy store."

According to QS MNA Vincent Marissal, we are witnessing "a resignation of the government."

He said the Coalition Avenir Québec party "no longer believes" in the public and universal health system in the province, and this is "the proof of their failure."