Bill 7: Quebec plans to abolish or merge a dozen organizations

Quebec is preparing to abolish or merge a dozen government agencies.

On Wednesday, Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau introduced Bill 7, “An Act to reduce bureaucracy, increase government efficiency, and strengthen the accountability of senior public servants.”

“Today is the first step. It’s a step that sets the tone, shows that progress is being made, and that we are serious,” said Duranceau at a press conference in the parliament.

With this bill, the minister hopes to achieve savings of $35 million by 2029-2030, notably by cutting 220 full-time equivalents (FTEs), including about 100 in the health care system.

For example, she proposes merging the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS) to form the Institut québécois en santé et services sociaux.

Three laboratories would be transferred to Santé Québec (infectious diseases, toxicology, and screening). Héma-Québec would take over the organ donation and transplantation activities currently carried out by Transplant Québec.

“The transfer of organ donation responsibilities (…) will allow for greater synergy between the various players in the life-giving chain,” said Caroline Banville, Chair of the Board of Directors of Héma-Québec, in a press release.

In Employment and Environment, there are plans to integrate the Parental Insurance Management Board into Retraite Québec. The Sustainable Development Commissioner would no longer be required to report annually; he or she could do so every five years.

In addition, if the bill is passed, the government will be able to transfer accumulated surpluses from the Electrification and Climate Change Fund to the Generations Fund and the Land Networks Fund.

In other words, these surpluses could one day be used to reduce the gas tax.

“It will be up to the Minister of Finance to announce this at some point in a budget or economic update,” Duranceau simply replied on Wednesday.

In addition, her Bill 7 aims to strengthen the accountability of senior officials.

Eighteen organizations, including Hydro-Québec, Investissement Québec, and the Autorité des marchés financiers, would be added to those required to appear before the Commission de l’administration publique (CAP) once every four years.

After the SAAQclic fiasco, special attention is being paid to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).

The government wants to be able to appoint the SAAQ’s vice presidents and set their compensation. Currently, these senior officials are appointed by the board of directors of the Crown corporation.

According to Duranceau, this is a matter of “regularizing” a situation that already exists for “all other corporations subject to the Public Service Act.”

In addition, under the legislation, individuals appointed for the first time as state administrators would be subject to a two-year “probationary period.”

The introduction of Bill 7 comes a few weeks after Premier François Legault’s speech on the need to impose “shock treatment” on government bureaucracy.

“For a year now, this government has been claiming to cut red tape without affecting services, (…) when in fact that is not true!” said Guillaume Bouvrette, president of the Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ), on Wednesday.

“I invite Duranceau to stop managing the state with Excel files and to come out of her bunker a little to meet with the staff,” he said.

This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews