Quebec’s newest Crown corporation, Santé Québec, officially takes control of the province’s health-care system this weekend — and takes on the Herculean task of tackling an anticipated $1.5-billion deficit.
Health Minister Christian Dubé gave an update Friday morning ahead of Sunday’s inauguration of the new health-care agency.
He said Santé Québec has been mandated to return to a balanced budget, a task the minister has described as “non-negotiable.”
Dubé acknowledged that while a reduction in institutional spending will likely affect public services, every effort will be made to minimize the impact.
“Right now we’re looking at everything to make sure there’s going to be budgetary discipline and that we’ll be able to minimize — that’s the right word, minimize — the impact on services,” he said at a news conference Friday.
WATCH | How will Santé Québec affect the health-care system?
Starting Sunday, Santé Québec will manage all health-care establishments in the province. The Crown corporation is a crucial part of the Legault government’s solutions to reform the health-care system.
Its main missions are to improve access to services, reduce waitlists for surgeries and reduce wait times in ERs. The health agency will be run by some 900 employees.
“Is this the ideal time that I would have liked Santé Québec to have arrived, with the difficulties, the budgetary rigour, etc.? It’s really not ideal,” Dubé said.
But he said hard times often present “an opportunity for change,” pointing to the government and health network’s response to difficulties presented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, Finance Minister Eric Girard presented an economic update showing Quebec is running an $11-billion deficit in 2024-25 in part because the cost of some things, including health care, have increased.
The government has already asked Crown corporations and the health-care network to find ways to save money this year, specifically by slashing administrative costs.