The council representing CUPE health care workers in Quebec is sharing its concerns about health minister Christian Dubé’s plans to use artificial intelligence, AI, to guide patients.
CUPE Quebec’s Conseil provincial des affaires sociales, or CPAS, says the seemingly innovative move actually reflects the CAQ government’s ongoing ad hoc approach. The CAQ continues to bank on “magic bullets” without tackling staff shortages, which are the real issues undermining Quebec’s health care system.
CUPE is clear: the problem in health care is not triage tools, whether managed by telephone operators or AI models. The real issue is the critical workforce shortage. Years of cutbacks and underfunding have deepened this structural deficit, which has a direct impact on patients’ ability to access the care they need.
“Whether we have telephone operators or AI, the result will be the same: patients will be sent to the ER because there aren’t enough doctors, nurses and specialists to take care of them,” says Karine Cabana, CUPE Quebec’s health and social services coordinator. “A machine isn’t going to solve the human and systemic problems of an overstretched network.”
This AI project raises even more concerns because it contradicts the government’s current requirements. The government is demanding that health care institutions cut administrative expenses, while introducing a new and potentially significant expense without any clearly defined limits. Poorly planned technological solutions have frequently become financial sinkholes for governments in the past.
“By calling for administrative cuts while launching such an unclear and expensive project, the government is sending a confused and incoherent message,” says CPAS President Fanny Demontigny. “We’re not opposed to solutions that can genuinely improve the health care system, but the government is once again on the wrong track. Health care workers need human reinforcements, not technological improvisation that diverts precious resources.”
CUPE Quebec is calling on the provincial government to stop looking for technological shortcuts and to prioritize hiring, training and supporting health care workers. A well-performing system depends first and foremost on the people who work in it, and on consistent investment in front-line services.