Letter to the Editor

Recent media disclosures have drawn attention to who the real decision-makers are when it comes to the direction of Quebec's health care system. The letter which came to light at the end of October, signed by six former premiers of Quebec, argued that there are several groups of powerful private interests vying for control of health care delivery decisions. These large private interests are grouped together around several large charitable foundations that have a firm grip on the major university hospital centres. They feel their prerogatives are threatened by the health reform bill that seeks to remove decision-making from these centres.

This quickly disappeared from the media reports when it became clear that the Legault government's health reform is also designed to further concentrate decision-making power in such powerful private interests. There are those in the university hospitals represented by the six former premiers, but there are also those championed by the Legault government. It has to do with who decides the direction of health care, what the priorities are, what medical machinery to buy, what "health market" to aim for, what role drugs should play, and so on. In all this, the wages and working conditions the workers are demanding have no political representation other than that of the interests represented by striking workers and all those who support their just cause.

A Reader in Montreal

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This article was published in

Number 59 - November 8, 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10595.HTM

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca