QUEBEC CITY — Quebec Health Minister Marie-Karlynn Laflamme said Wednesday the Parti Québécois government is discussing a transformation of Santé Québec, but hours later clarified its campaign pledge to abolish the Crown corporation remains intact. She made the initial remarks to reporters before a cabinet meeting in Quebec City, stating the government has been talking for days about reforming and decentralizing the health ministry's operational arm. Laflamme said officials would meet with Santé Québec in coming days to establish what works well and create zones of collaboration. "We are now talking about a transformation of Santé Québec, something that has been in our discourse for several days now, I would say," Laflamme said.
She noted Santé Québec had not done only bad things but conceded centralization had gone too far. Later on social media, Laflamme posted a clarification insisting there was no backtracking. "It is not a question and has never been a question of backtracking on our promise to abolish Santé Québec," she wrote on X. She described the planned abolition as a significant transformation of a structure that was too heavy and centralized. Laflamme repeated the PQ's characterization of Santé Québec as having governance issues like a state within a state. She said abolishing it was necessary to retain useful activities while regaining control of spending and civil service numbers. The government would continue positive initiatives, she said, such as reviewing regional health funding, achieving scale savings and evaluating management performance.
She added the government would consult stakeholders via a parliamentary committee before deciding on a final organizational structure. Its goals remain cutting about 900 civil service jobs and returning to a single, unified structure accountable to elected officials on public funds. Laflamme reposted a September commitment from Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to reduce bureaucracy, save $100 million and end unlimited spending and hiring by the agency. St-Pierre Plamondon's post stated that after abolition, Santé Québec's missions would continue under a new framework where the health minister controls resources and bureaucracy size. Opposition parties criticized the government's shifting messaging. Québec solidaire health critic Gisèle Pouhe Njall said the apparent change impacts the PQ's campaign financial framework, which predicted $40 million to $100 million in savings from abolishing the agency. Pouhe Njall noted those savings were to be reinvested into the CLSC network and asked if the minister was now announcing that was no longer the case. She said the minister should present a clear plan and explain how any change would affect patients and workers. Laflamme concluded her social media post by writing, "Our commitment to abolishing Santé Québec remains."