Health minister says she misspoke on budget cuts
Danielle McCann’s apparent flip-flop about health care ‘really was a lapse’
Quebec Health Minister Danielle McCann said on Tuesday there will be no cuts to the province’s health-care budget, the opposite of what she said during an interview Friday, making a mess of her first media foray as a cabinet minister.
Speaking to CBC television Friday, McCann — in charge of Quebec’s largest ministry — said the government would be cutting costs in the health sector, but not in “services to patients.”
“I’m not talking about cutting services to patients,” she said in English to interviewer Debra Arbec. “I’m cutting to better organize (administration).”
The Coalition Avenir Québec never mentioned any cuts to the health-care sector during the election campaign.
On Tuesday, McCann told Presse Canadienne she had misspoken on Friday. She said she meant to say “going to better organize” and not “cutting to better organize.”
“It really was a lapse,” she said. “There will be no budget cuts in the health and the social service network. I cannot be clearer than that. This is a commitment from the government, and you can be certain that it will be the case.”
Earlier, the premier’s office tried to sort out the confusion with mixed results while certain groups began to express concern about the government’s position.
During the same interview with the CBC, McCann said: “I want to say also for everybody in the (health-care) network that we will continue and even increase our work in terms of efficiency. No cuts in terms of services to patients, but in efficiency.”
The CBC later changed the headline of its online report, from “More health care cuts coming to system” to “No cuts to health-care system.”
On Tuesday, McCann took 10 minutes to explain herself.
“The lesson is that the message is very clear on our part, so you understand that we’re not worried that any confusion will remain, quite the contrary.
“It gives me the opportunity to reiterate loud and clear that we will support our (health-care) teams and there will be no budget cuts.”
Presse Canadienne
There will be no budget cuts in the health and the social service network. I cannot be clearer than that.