Under the fire of criticism since the tabling of his bill, the Minister of Health Christian Dubé promises to unveil shortly the “three or four” decrees which will remain in place following the lifting of the state of health emergency.
• Read also: End of the state of health emergency: powers extended until the end of the year
Currently, regarding sixty decrees remain active under the health emergency. Quebec plans to end most of these in the coming weeks.
“When we start discussing the bill, there will be three or four decrees left. And we will no longer be able to add decrees, we will just be able to remove some, ”commented the minister on Thursday.
His Bill 28, tabled yesterday, provides that all decrees still active at the time of its adoption will remain in place until December 31, 2022, unless the government decides to abolish them.
This extension of certain extraordinary powers until the end of the year has been seen as an open bar by opposition parties, since the bill does not specify which decrees will be kept following its adoption.
In a press briefing, Christian Dubé offered a non-exhaustive list. The remaining decrees will be divided by categories, namely education (distance education), operations (vaccination, screening), telemedicine and bonuses.
In the same way, the minister wanted to reassure the opposition, who fear the renewal of contracts by mutual agreement. Only contracts relating to screening and vaccination may be extended until the end of the year, while those relating to the transport and storage of goods acquired during the pandemic may end in a maximum of five years.
All other contracts entered into by mutual agreement must be renewed as needed in accordance with the Act respecting contracting by public bodies. “We are going to go with the call for tenders process which is provided for in the LCOP”, assures Christian Dubé.
The oppositions unite
Before the minister’s exit, the three opposition parties in the National Assembly had returned to the charge on Thursday morning to denounce his bill.
Liberal leader Dominique Anglade believes that the CAQ wants to keep extraordinary powers while avoiding having to impose the health emergency once more in the middle of the election campaign if a 6th wave were to occur next fall.
“It avoids the odiousness of bringing the state of emergency back to that time, at a time that may be inappropriate for the CAQ,” she said.
“This government is so used to governing by decree, then it is so comfortable in this big democratic lazy-boy that it does not want to get out of it”, for his part lamented the solidarity Vincent Marshal.
- Listen to the Foisy-Robitaille meeting with Philippe-Vincent Foisy, Antoine Robitaille and Benoit Dutrizac on QUB Radio:
Like his opposition colleagues, the parliamentary leader of the PQ believes that Quebec must clearly state what powers it wishes to retain. “Let the government tell us clearly what tools it wants to use once the state of emergency is behind us to manage the post-crisis. We cannot be in crisis and not be at the same time. We cannot be in a state of emergency and not be in a state of emergency at the same time,” declared Joël Arseneau.
