Cancellation of doctors’ raises demanded
Doctors’ group denounces large salary increases as ‘quite simply embarrassing’
About 800 people marched through downtown Montreal on Saturday to protest against the recent pay increase negotiated between the province and its medical specialists.
The protest, dubbed “Unified for health: a protest against inequality in the healthcare system,” was organized by a group of doctors opposed to the latest contract, which will give medical specialists a $2-billion pay increase by 2023, as well as $480 million retroactively.
The group, Médecins québécois pour le régime public (MQRP), has denounced the specialists’ pay increase as “quite simply embarrassing ” when quality of care is slipping, when essential care such as mental health and dental are not fully covered by the provincial health insurance scheme, when nurses are assigned too many patients and made to work mandatory overtime, and other health and social services employees are fighting for fair working conditions.
Protesters carried signs that said “Exhausted nurses = patients in danger,” “Public health for all,” and “We want a Barrettectomy,” in reference to Health Minister Gaétan Barrette.
Sam Kuhn of St-Henri carried a big yellow sign that said “Charlotte, seven years old, waiting more than five years for speech therapy.”
Kuhn’s daughter received a diagnosis of autism years ago, but was put on a waiting list for speech therapy. Recently, the family was informed Charlotte is too old for publicly funded speech therapy sessions. Charlotte’s parents had to resort to raising money online to afford private speech and occupational therapy sessions that experts say their daughter needs.
“Stop giving (millions) to the doctors and start giving basic therapies to our kids,” Kuhn said, when asked what he wanted to tell the government. “This is not about someone who has fallen through the cracks, or that the government doesn’t know about. They know exactly what is going on. This is systemic. They don’t provide therapy for kids. This is insanity. It’s normalized. It’s accepted and it’s not acceptable.”
Kuhn has been picketing outside the Montreal offices of Rehabilitation, Youth Protection and Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois for the past several weeks. He said he is now networking with other parents with similar concerns to ramp up the pressure on the government.
“Myself and other parents, we are planning radical actions. We are planning occupations if that’s what it takes. We cannot accept this as a society.”
Laure Letarte-Lavoie, a social worker in the Eastern Townships, told the rally social workers are overwhelmed with work and underpaid. She says her CSSS was recently ordered by the government to develop a suicide intervention team with a budget of zero.
“How do they expect us to do that? Ask social workers who already have a full workload following people in need, to just add this little task to their work?” she asked.
“When people dare to admit they are exhausted and overwhelmed, that they are not able to do more, they put it on our shoulders, telling us it is up to us to better manage our time.”
And Les Mémés Déchaînées, Montreal’s version of the Raging Grannies, were there to inspire the crowd in their crocheted shawls and colourful felt hats decorated with flowers. The antiwar, prosocial justice group sang an original song for Saturday’s rally, demanding justice and respect for all health workers and their patients. The MQRP is demanding: the cancellation of doctors’ salary ■ increases and public hearings on doctors’ salary levels;
recognition, respect and fair ■ working conditions for all health workers;
investment in the public health ■ system and a broadening of services covered under the provincial health insurance plan including psychological, dental, eye care and various forms of physical therapy;
a comprehensive drug insurance ■ system;
quality health care access for ■ everyone living in Quebec, including the vulnerable and the marginalized.
They know exactly what is going on. This is systemic. They don’t provide therapy for kids. This is insanity. It’s normalized.