CAQ unveils Santé Québec, the new agency in charge of fixing the province’s health-care system | CBC News

François Legault’s government is banking on a new provincial agency to fix its battered health-care system, and it’s called Santé Québec.

The creation of Santé Québec is the foundational piece of Bill 15, which Health Minister Christian Dubé tabled at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

If it becomes law, Santé Québec would oversee all activities related to the public health-care system, including providing services and facilitating access.

The province’s Health Ministry would provide broad guidelines, Dubé said, but Santé Québec would be the organization in charge. 

Santé Québec would also help organize elements of the private sector.

“It will be a separate entity with a small management team that will be responsible for operations, and developing the means to achieve results,” the minister said.

The agency would also become the sole employer of the province’s health-care employees and would supplant regional health agencies — known by their French acronyms CIUSSS and CISSS.

Right now, there are currently 34 regional health agencies in the province.

During a news conference that began shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dubé described the bill of about 300 pages as “the fruit of colossal work” from the last few years.

“The status quo is not an option,” the minister said.

During its first mandate, which saw the province endure several harsh waves of COVID-19, the CAQ often blamed the health system’s shortcomings on the preceding Liberal government.

A few months into its second term, Bill 15 appears to be the CAQ’s  attempt at reforming that system it inherited in 2018.