Quebec’s English health-care network could lose autonomy under Bill 15, critics warn

Quebec's English-speaking community is being warned it could be affected by Bill 15, the government's major reform of the health-care network.

Montreal’s English-speaking community is concerned the Legault government is rushing to pass Bill 15, Quebec’s major health-care reform.

Members of the opposition and health-care experts argue there are still too many articles to analyze before the government invokes closure at the end of session next week. If passed, Bill 15 would create a centralized provincial agency that would oversee the public health-care system — a top-to-bottom approach many critics say could be a recipe for disaster.

“There is a limit to putting everyone in the same boat and therefore eliminating innovation that comes from the ground up,” Liberal health critic André Fortin said.

During a town hall meeting on Monday evening, English-speaking Montrealers were able to learn more about the bill and express their concerns.

“This hyper-centralization will in fact have a direct impact on the local decision-making that we have here in the ridings,” Liberal MNA Jennifer Macaronne said.

“We feel it’s very important to bring that information to our citizens.”

Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) president Eva Ludvig worries a centralized system will be out of touch with the community.

“English and French,” Ludvig said. “This will be a huge loss and will certainly have an impact on patient care, on innovation, on the ability to fund projects.”