Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois (PQ) Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon vowed Friday to abolish Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec if elected, saying a PQ government would cut at least $40 million a year from health administration and return more decision-making power to the regions.<\/p>\n
The proposal would dismantle the centrepiece of the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec government\u2019s health-care overhaul, less than two years after Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec took over day-to-day management of Quebec\u2019s public health network. The PQ says it would aim to increase savings to as much as $100 million a year, with the money reinvested into primary care and reducing surgical wait lists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are indeed facing a bureaucratic monster,\u201d St-Pierre Plamondon said outside Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital on Friday. \u201cWe need to regain control of this state-owned company.\u201d<\/p>\n
St-Pierre Plamondon said a PQ government would not eliminate everything Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec currently does. Functions including centralized purchasing, performance measures and the single-employer model for health-care workers could be maintained under a different structure, he said, while more decisions would be made at the regional and local level.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about reforming, but reducing the size of the number of people deciding the same thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To support its argument that Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec has increased bureaucracy, the PQ presented figures comparing staffing at Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec and the Health Ministry.<\/p>\n
According to figures presented by the PQ, the Health Ministry had 1,232 employees in March 2024, several months before Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec came into operation. By January 2026, the ministry employed 950 people and Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec 1,176, for a combined total of 2,126.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have about 900 more public servants in two years to manage exactly the same network,\u201d St-Pierre Plamondon said.<\/p>\n
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Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, announces his party\u2019s proposal to abolish Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec and redirect spending toward direct patient care, while standing outside Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
The figures are not directly comparable, however. When Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec was created, responsibilities were shifted from the ministry to the new agency, including 894 ministry positions that were formally transferred in January 2025.<\/p>\n
St-Pierre Plamondon argues that despite those transfers, the combined bureaucracy has grown and that overlapping administration is where a PQ government would find savings.<\/p>\n
Health Minister Sonia B\u00e9langer dismissed the proposal Friday, saying the health network does not need another major restructuring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be very clear: Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec is here to stay,\u201d B\u00e9langer said in a statement to The Gazette.<\/p>\n
She said the reform brought roughly 30 structures under a single employer in an effort to break down silos, avoid duplication and make better use of resources throughout the network.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing backwards would mean once again moving employees, responsibilities, budgets and systems,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In a separate statement posted on social media<\/a>, B\u00e9langer said abolishing Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec would amount to a \u201chuge waste of time and resources\u201d and accused the PQ of oversimplifying the challenge of improving access to care.<\/p>\n Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec also defended its record in a statement to The Gazette ahead of Friday\u2019s announcement, saying it had improved access to care, achieved a balanced budget and reduced duplication between health institutions.<\/p>\n It pointed in particular to improvements in surgical wait times and said it had \u201cstreamlined administrative processes to free up more time for patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbolishing Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec would once again disrupt network operations and the transformation currently underway,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec began operating on Dec. 1, 2024<\/a>, as part of a sweeping CAQ overhaul of the health-care system.<\/p>\n Before the reform, most health care was managed through more than two dozen regional authorities and independent institutions. Under the new structure, the Health Ministry remained responsible for policy and strategic planning, while Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec became responsible for day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n Then-health minister Christian Dub\u00e9 promoted the new model as a way to improve services, reduce surgery and emergency-room wait times and improve efficiency. Before Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec began operating, its CEO, Genevi\u00e8ve Biron, said one of her first objectives would be to find $1 billion in savings.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n The Quebec Liberal Party also rejected abolishing Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec Friday, though it agreed more decisions should be made closer to patients.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CAQ spent years reorganizing the network. The PQ is now proposing another structural shake-up that will create even more instability in the network,\u201d the party said in a statement to The Gazette.<\/p>\n \u201cPatients need results, not another reform,\u201d the party said. \u201cWe need to repair the network, not restructure it yet again.\u201d<\/p>\n Qu\u00e9bec solidaire took a similar position, saying it would keep Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec but transfer more decision-making power to the regions.<\/p>\n \u201cA Qu\u00e9bec solidaire government would decentralize some of the powers of centralized megastructures, such as Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec, to ensure greater decision-making autonomy for the regions,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is therefore not a question of abolishing Sant\u00e9 Qu\u00e9bec, but simply decentralizing decision-making as much as possible to bring it closer to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
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