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caq government ends debate on health-care reform bill, invokes closure
the quebec government failed to reach an agreement with the three opposition parties to extend the session beyond the scheduled adjournment.
dec 8 2023
4 minute read
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quebec — sparking a fresh controversy, the legault was to use closure this weekend to adopt its controversial health-reform package , bill 15.
having failed to reach an agreement with the three opposition parties to extend the session beyond the scheduled adjournment on friday, the government announced it is pulling the plug on the session.
closure is a legislative procedure that allows a government to suspend the normal rules of procedure and fast-track a bill into law by limiting debate.
“listen, 238 hours,” premier françois legault told reporters, confirming the decision friday morning. “it’s been 238 hours that (health minister) christian dubé has been listening to the suggestions of the opposition.
“do you think more is needed?”
it will be the fifth time in its two mandates that the coalition avenir québec government has opted for the closure solution to cut short debate on legislation. as was the case the other times, bill 15 is controversial and hotly contested in some quarters because it shakes up the health system to the core.
the government used closure to adopt bill 9 on immigration, bill 21 on state secularism , bill 40 replacing school boards with service centres and bill 34 imposing a ceiling on hydro rates .
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the decision means bill 15 will be adopted by the national assembly either late friday or sometime saturday depending on how much the opposition parties choose to delay or make full use of the limited time closure allows for debate. the final shortened debate kicked off following a question period friday afternoon.
“the premier is about to commit the biggest error of his mandate,” interim liberal leader marc tanguay said rising in the legislature as the closure process kicked off.
on his feet a second later, legault fired back, blaming the liberals for years of inaction on health that he says the bill will fix.
“even if we moved this to 528 hours, we will continue to have three parties in favour of the status quo and one party of change,” he fired back.
but the opposition did not surrender.
“is he proud to adopt a bill in this undemocratic way?” québec solidaire health critic guillaume cliche-rivard fired across the floor. “there are hundreds of clauses to examine, plenty of sections we have not examined.”
dubé had an answer too, telling reporters it’s time for action.
“i am a bit fed up watching what’s happening in our network,” dubé said on his way into the legislature. “people waiting at the emergencies, people dying in emergencies, people who can’t get appointments with their doctors, long waiting lists for youth protection.
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“i was given a clear mandate three years ago by the premier: change things.”
on wednesday, caq house leader simon jolin-barrette offered to add three more days to the schedule next week so the committee studying the massive bill could continue to work.
but he also said one way or another, the bill would be adopted by dec. 14, which meant he was prepared to use closure then. while the liberals and qs were willing, the parti québécois rejected the offer, saying they would not work with closure hanging over their heads.
on thursday, jolin-barrette added an additional day to his offer with the bill to be adopted dec. 15. the pq again rejected it. by friday morning, the writing was on the wall.
“yes, it is necessary,” jolin-barrette told the house friday as the opposition attacked the decision. “i extended a hand. i was willing to give more time. it’s important for quebecers to see improvements in health.
“we are in a situation where we have to change things. your problem is you want the status quo.”
jolin-barrette noted bill 15, which includes about 1,200 clauses, is one of the largest bills to be adopted in quebec’s history and has been on the table since may.
“while quebecers were in shorts and t-shirts, the minister worked all summer on this,” jolin-barrette said. “he heard dozens of groups and was present for each session at the national assembly, answered all the opposition questions.”
when the committee ended its work thursday, there were still 500 articles to be adopted. one key amendment that would have allowed the new health agency being set up in the bill, santé québec, to revoke the bilingual status of some health institutions was withdrawn by dubé at the last minute thursday.
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dubé replaced it with another amendment, which he said restores the original wording of quebec’s laws concerning institutions allowed to offer services in a language other than french. liberal health critic andré fortin said friday he does not think the minority protection in the new amendment is strong enough.
on friday, the quebec community groups network, an umbrella group of english-speaking groups, denounced the use of closure to adopt the bill.
“the government is thumbing its nose at the thousands of quebecers who have raised significant concerns about this ill-thought-out bill,” the qcgn said in a statement. “that includes the 6,400 people who signed our petition demanding more consultations, six former premiers who publicly denounced it as well as unions, health professionals and many, many others.”
the qcgn also expressed concerns that the amendment dubé presented as a firewall to protect minority rights does not go far enough. the organization said the amendment creates a “historic first,” in giving santé québec the right to revoke minority language access to health and social services even if it is obliged to consult committees created by the government itself.
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bill 15 foresees a six-month period for santé québec to get up and running. it will be responsible for all the day-to-day operations of the health system.
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