OPINION / In Quebec, immigration has become an electoral tool. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) and the Parti Québécois (PQ) are competing to portray newcomers as a burden to be contained.
The consequences are real.
The regionalization pilot project in theCapitale–Nationale region offered local support: social monitoring, healthcare, and referral to appropriate resources.
Its elimination resulted in the loss of four nursing positions and four social worker positions. The result: fewer services for people who are already vulnerable. Is this really what we want as a society?
When local services disappear, the needs of vulnerable people do not disappear with them. With no alternatives, they turn to emergency rooms, walk–in clinics, or community organizations, which lack the resources and funding necessary to adequately meet their needs.
These choices have predictable consequences:
- Increased food insecurity and reliance on food banks.
- Delays in medical and psychosocial follow–up, leading to avoidable and costly hospitalizations.
- Increased pressure on emergency accommodation and community services.
- Compromised integration trajectories, to the detriment of the host society.
Within the CIUSSS of the Capitale–Nationale itself, care pathways are fragmented. The front–line access point rarely offers interpretation services. As a result, users do not fully understand the referral instructions.
Registered Family medicine group (FMG) receive funding through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) for consultations, but do not offer interpretation services. Consultations are therefore billed without any guarantee that they will be understood.
Furthermore, this situation runs counter to the National Health Prevention Strategy 2025–2035. The government says it wants to reduce inequalities and promote early access to care. In reality, the cuts are weakening resources and delaying follow–up care. Reducing social assistance or abolishing local support projects does not prevent anything: it creates costly complications.
Our demands are simple:
- Restore funding for the pilot project and reinstate the positions that were cut.
- Cancel cuts to social assistance providers.
- Establish an independent monitoring mechanism to assess the impact of the measures.
- Guarantee effective access to the Federal Interim Health Program and front-line clinics.
Link to the published article (in French) : https://www.lesoleil.com/opinions/point-de-vue/2025/10/26/le-gouvernement-choisit-lexclusion-avec-les-coupes-aux-demandeurs-dasile-2YQ6WGYTP5DEZCBJ7HGWHOPSAA/
Signatories:
- Lise Albert, Clinical nurse
- Stéfanie Barette, Clinical nurse
- Marie-Maude Cossette, Clinical nurse
- Marie-Hélène Domingue, Clinical nurse
- Maritza Lainez-Chiasson, Clinical nurse
- Florance Robitaille, Clinical nurse
- Caroline Terroux Sevigny, Clinical nurse
- Alexandra Touloumis, Clinical nurse
- Geneviève Thibault, Social Worker
- Marie-Ève Fournier, Social Worker
- Marilyn Baxter, Social Worker
- Marie-Ève Leblanc, Social Worker
- Martine Ruel, Social Worker
- FIQ – Syndicat des professionnelles en soins de la Capitale Nationale (SPSCN)
- Syndicat des professionnels, techniciennes et techniciens de la santé et des services sociaux (SPTSSS)
- Syndicat des Travailleuses et Travailleurs du CIUSSS de la Capitale Nationale (SST)
- Regroupement des groupes de femmes de la région de la Capitale-Nationale (RGF)
- Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ)
- Carrefour d’action interculturelle (CAI)
- Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TRCI)
- Immigrant Workers Center – Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants (IWC-CTI)
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