By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Community and union groups gathered at Place Kassiwi in Sherbrooke on April 1 to publicly denounce what they called “false promises” by Quebec’s health minister, Christian Dubé. The protest was part of a coordinated effort by the Coalition solidarité santé (CSS) during its annual “week of action” campaign.
Organized by the Estrie branch of the CSS, the demonstration brought together representatives of various community and labour organizations who are concerned about the direction of the province’s health care reform. Participants voiced alarm over the centralisation of decision-making and a lack of real investment in the public system.
Dominique Vigneux-Parent, spokesperson for the Regroupement des organismes communautaires de l’Estrie and regional representative of the CSS, said that despite the minister’s assurances, the reform is moving away from democratic principles. “One of the promises was that this reform would bring more democracy and more listening to the population,” she said in an on-site interview. “That’s not what we’re seeing at all.”
She pointed to the elimination of CIUSSS boards of directors as an example of power being taken away from the regions. “The decisions will now be made by Santé Québec and no longer here in the region,” Vigneux-Parent said. “That’s a loss of power for us.”
The protest was framed around the symbolic date of Apr. 1—April Fool’s Day—with participants warning that the government’s commitments to accessibility, universality, and free care risk becoming nothing more than a bad joke. As the event’s slogan put it: “So that free, accessible and universal health care isn’t just an April Fool’s joke!”
Critics of the reform are also pointing to what they call insufficient funding for the organisations that support health and social services at the community level. Vigneux-Parent noted that while groups received an extra $3,000 in the recent provincial budget, it was far from enough. “Three thousand dollars isn’t much. It might buy a few meals, but it won’t allow us to hire staff or implement structural measures,” she said.
Rather than increasing bureaucracy, she argued that what is needed is a reinvestment in public services and a return to regionally grounded decision-making. “We want a reform that’s closer to the citizens,” she said. “Not someone in a tower who represents all of Quebec and decides what our needs are.”
The demonstration was one of several across the province that week, as part of a broader mobilisation to defend Quebec’s public health system. “We’re all here because we believe in this public system,” said Vigneux-Parent. “It’s something we need to protect and cherish for future generations.”
