Quebec public services becoming ‘dehumanized’ as demand rises, ombudsperson says

Quebec’s ombudsperson is warning that public services are becoming “dehumanized” in the province amid a rise in demand for them.

Marc-André Dowd released his annual report Thursday, which highlights several examples of people receiving inadequate care across the health network in the 12 months leading to March 31.

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One dying man who lived alone was denied help cleaning his cat’s litter box by his local health clinic, a service Dowd says should have been given for “humanitarian reasons.”

Dowd also describes staff at a long-term care home feeding residents “mechanically” and talking among each other — despite health ministry guidelines directing staff to maintain eye contact with residents.

The ombudsperson says his office received a record number of problems to investigate across the province’s public services — 24,867 compared with 22,053 last year.

He says his office investigated 13,358 cases between April 2023 and March of this year.