QUEBEC CITY – Voice of English-Speaking Quebec (VEQ) and the Townshippers’ Association were finally able to address the National Assembly committee in charge of studying Bill 10.
Initially, only the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) had been invited to take part.
“Some people decided not to come, so as soon as we had an opening from someone who decided not to come, we offered it to someone else,” explained Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.
“Obviously I thought it was interesting when I saw that both VEQ and Townshippers’ were interested so I put a word in,” said Jacques-Cartier MNA and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Geoffrey Kelley.
At the heart of the matter, Anglophones are concerned they’ll lose their voice when the Health Minister merges boards of directors in a wide-ranging re-modeling of the health-care network.
Bill 10 plans for anglophone and francophone institutions to be joined together.
“Our voice isn’t very loud,” Townshippers’ Association President Gerald Cutting said.
“Once you start taking smaller institutions where we have representation and then constitute larger and larger boards, our voice will certainly be weaker.”
Voice of English-speaking Quebec asked that Anglos be allowed to continue to run Jeffery Hale Hospital and St. Brigid’s Home in Quebec City.
“Governance for us is essential,” VEQ director-general Jean-Sébastien Jolin-Gignac told the commission.
In the end, the minister didn’t make any promises.
“I’m open to suggestions. For them to keep the board, I don’t see the necessity as significantly as they do,” said Barrette.
Asked how he felt the hearing went, Ireland said: “I think there was a willingness to listen, It’s going to be telling in the next few weeks if we see any action.”
Hearings continue next week.
The QCGN will present its brief Thursday, October 30th.
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