Christiane Germain appointed Sante Québec president; Health Minister claims no partisanship

The Quebec government appointed Christiane Germain as the president of Santé Québec.

Health Minister Christian Dubé claims there was no bias, as she is a long-time member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government.

“I have known Germain for 30 years. It has nothing to do with the Coalition Avenir Québec. We named Diane Lamarre, who is a Parti Québécois (PQ) member and a high-calibre pharmacist,” said Dubé at a press conference. “Partisanship has nothing to do with appointments.”

The government appointed the board of directors of Santé Québec on Wednesday.

Germain is the co-founder and co-president of the hotel company Germain.

Minister Dubé assures that her experience will be beneficial for the Quebec health system.

“When I look at Germain’s journey, having been able to build a company that is renowned for its way of working with employees, of working with clients who want to return, who feel at home when they are on a trip. We are going to ask these people to change the culture, respect for employees, respect for patients,” he explained.

Québec solidaire (QS) says they’re worried how there is no one from the social services sector and fears there will be “marginalization.”

“There are several actions by the minister that fuel this concern,” said QS leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “Many people are afraid that ​​social services will be completely forgotten within Santé Québec. We’re going to give her a chance. But the fact that we found a place for someone from the hotel industry, and not from social services shows a lack of vision and favourable bias towards the private sector.”

The PQ questioned why it was necessary to appoint someone from the private sector as the president.

PQ MNA Pascal Bérubé pointed out that Quebec Premier François Legault knows Germain well.

“With the CAQ, we should always congratulate intentions instead of results. (…) This morning, in Mont-Laurier, the capacity was over 280 per cent in the ER, Saint-Eustache was 168 per cent, Verdun hospital was 219 per cent and the Jewish General Hospital was 177 per cent,” said Bérubé. 

However, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) had no problem with the announcement and believes that Germain has all the necessary skills.

Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said it’s not up to Germain to solve the problems within the health care system.

“What concerns us is not the ‘top guns.’ What concerns us is that we wait three hours more in emergencies today, unlike Philippe Couillard’s government in 2018,” said Tanguay. “There are people who die in emergency rooms.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews