Close to 100 CUPE Québec members braved the cold to welcome the CAQ caucus, which was holding its meeting at the Manoir Saint-Sauveur this morning. CUPE would like to reiterate the importance of public services in Quebec.
Patrick Gloutney, President of CUPE Québec, expressed dismay over the CAQ’s positions. “The Legault government wants us to pay for its lack of vision and ambition by privatizing our healthcare system, which doesn’t need any more structures. The CAQ favours the private sector over the public, forcing many patients to rely on profit-seeking private clinics. But it also wants to make us pay more for our electricity by allowing the private sector to appropriate part of the production.”
In concrete terms, the energy plan developed in Bill 69 would usher in an economic model from a bygone era to benefit private companies. In the health sector, we learned last week that Santé Québec had cut 1,000 jobs over the previous month, and the public corporation intends to cut even more. There is already a staff shortage in our workplaces, and this will have a definite negative effect on users. Lastly, the CAQ’s lack of investment in public transit is glaring, forcing the costly use of cars, and all this in the midst of a climate crisis.
“We will not allow this government to act with impunity,” Gloutney affirmed. “We’ll keep right on its tail! The CAQ was not elected to privatize Quebec, nor were they elected to attack workers’ rights.”
During the holiday season, Labour Minister Jean Boulet openly announced that he wanted to limit the rights of workers in the province to exercise their right to strike.