Quebec Overhauls Health, Benefits, Public Contracts

Summary#

• This bill makes many changes to how Quebec’s government is organized. Its goal is to cut red tape, pool support services, and make senior officials more accountable.

• It merges two major health institutes into one, shifts some roles to Santé Québec and Héma‑Québec, simplifies public contracts, and reduces some reports. It also moves the parental insurance plan to Retraite Québec and changes how some boards and tribunals work.

• Key changes:

  • Health: Merge the public health and health‑excellence institutes into a single Institut québécois de santé et de services sociaux; national labs move to Santé Québec; Héma‑Québec takes over organ donation coordination province‑wide; Urgences‑santé’s board becomes the board of Santé Québec and shares admin services.
  • Education and youth: Abolish the college evaluation commission; move Office Québec‑Monde pour la jeunesse programs into the international relations ministry; adjust the Quebec side of the Franco‑Québécois youth office; turn the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques into a non‑profit; the Minister of the French Language leads policy on the Canadian francophonie.
  • Family benefits: Abolish the parental insurance board; Retraite Québec will manage the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan and its fund.
  • Climate finance: Require a climate financial framework with the annual budget; allow surplus money from the climate fund to be moved to the Generations Fund and the land transport fund; keep an annual GHG inventory; climate performance audit moves to once every five years.
  • Public contracts: End the need to renew “authorization to contract”; keep a yearly update duty and add automatic suspension/revocation if not updated; apply government‑enterprise contract rules to the Government Acquisitions Center and group buys.
  • Public service and accountability: Abolish the Public Service Commission; move its roles to the Administrative Labour Tribunal (new division); set a clear duty for administrators and a two‑year probation with easier dismissal during probation; require legislative hearings of some state CEOs at least every four years; government now appoints SAAQ vice‑presidents and sets their pay.
  • Housing: Allow merging housing offices and creating offices across set areas; end joint management of contributions to the SHQ; let COGIWEB be treated like a municipal body for contracting to support housing IT systems.
  • Agriculture: Streamline the farm marketing board’s processes, allow mediation, and modernize how notices are shared.

What it means for you#

• Health users and families

  • Information on health, prevention, and best practices will come from one new institute. Provincial health labs will be run by Santé Québec.
  • If you need an organ transplant or are a donor, Héma‑Québec will manage the single wait list, share organs by set criteria, and handle transport and support.

• Parents using Quebec Parental Insurance

  • Retraite Québec will handle applications, payments, and the fund. Your rights in the plan are unchanged by the bill; the service point changes to Retraite Québec.

• Public servants and senior managers

  • Job appeals and certain recourses go to the Administrative Labour Tribunal (new function‑public division).
  • New administrators do a two‑year probation. Those who were not permanent public servants can be dismissed during probation with a 15‑day written notice.
  • The Treasury Board President can audit staffing practices. CEOs of some state bodies must appear in a legislative committee at least every four years to discuss their management.

• College students and colleges

  • The independent college evaluation commission is abolished. Oversight and follow‑up shift to the higher‑education ministry and existing rules.

• Youth in international programs

  • Programs of Office Québec‑Monde pour la jeunesse move inside the international relations ministry. The Quebec side of the Franco‑Québécois youth office is reorganized. Program delivery continues, but handled by the ministry.

• Community organizations

  • Two funds merge into one larger social and community action fund. It can support social initiatives, community action, and, in some cases, humanitarian aid.

• Farmers and agri‑food businesses

  • The Régie can sit with smaller panels, use mediation, and share notices through modern channels. This aims for faster, simpler decisions.

• Businesses bidding on public contracts

  • No more fixed renewals of integrity authorization. You must file an annual update; failure leads to automatic suspension and then revocation if not corrected.
  • The Government Acquisitions Center sets and applies uniform contract conditions for its own buys and group purchases; it must publish more contract details.

• Tenants in social housing and municipalities

  • Housing offices can merge or be created across wider areas to pool services. Cities and related bodies can award certain contracts directly to COGIWEB to support housing IT.

Expenses#

• At a glance: No publicly available information.

Proponents’ View#

• Merging health bodies and labs cuts overlap, speeds up expert advice, and clarifies roles in emergencies.
• Putting organ donation under Héma‑Québec creates one door for patients and families and supports fair, science‑based allocation.
• Moving parental insurance to Retraite Québec uses an experienced benefit manager, which could improve service and reduce admin costs.
• Ending authorization renewals and standardizing group buys reduce red tape for suppliers while keeping yearly integrity checks.
• Fewer reports and shared back‑office services save staff time and money, so more resources can go to frontline work.
• Clear duties, a probation period, and regular hearings make top officials more accountable for results.

Opponents’ View#

• Large mergers can disrupt services, cause staff uncertainty, and risk weakening independent public‑health voices.
• Abolishing the college evaluation commission may reduce outside quality checks for CEGEPs.
• Allowing climate‑fund surpluses to flow to other funds could divert money away from emission‑cutting projects.
• Cutting some reports and less frequent audits may reduce transparency and public oversight in finance and climate matters.
• Dropping renewal of contract authorizations could weaken integrity controls if annual updates are not thorough and enforced.
• Stronger dismissal powers and shifting appeals may erode job protections for public servants and centralize control.