2023-08-15 05:30:08
(Quebec) Health network managers are sounding the alarm: the transition to abolish the use of placement agencies in the health network by 2026 is “too abrupt”, risks causing service disruptions and to “destabilize” the working conditions of employees.
What there is to know
- Bill 10 aimed at eliminating the use of personnel placement agencies in the health network by 2026 was adopted in February.
- A draft regulation framing several provisions of the law, such as deadlines, price caps and prohibitions, was published on July 26 in the Quebec Official Gazette.
- The consultation period ends on August 15. The Council of Ministers will then enact the final regulations.
The Association of Managers of Health and Social Services Establishments (AGESSS) issued this warning to the Ministry following the publication of a draft regulation which dictates the procedure to be followed to wean the network of placement agencies, learned The Press.
The draft regulations, published in the Official Gazette of Quebec July 26, sets the deadline for the entry into force of the prohibition for any health establishment to call on agency staff. The plan proposed by Quebec is gradual depending on the regions. It goes as follows:
- October 20, 2024: Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches
- October 19, 2025: Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, Estrie, Lanaudière and Laurentians
- October 18, 2026: Bas-Saint-Laurent, Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Nunavik
Although it welcomes the “differentiation of deadlines by region”, AGESSS expected that the draft regulation would propose a step-by-step withdrawal plan.
“We would go further,” wrote President and CEO Danielle Girard, in a letter sent as part of the consultations on the draft regulations.
In particular, the association asks Quebec to set targets gradually limiting the number of hours worked by agency staff rather than “prohibiting it entirely from a fixed date and variable depending on the region”.
In a statement sent to The PressMme Girard says the current transition is “too abrupt” and fears its effects.
Mme Girard was not available for an interview on Monday.
“Avoiding service failures”
AGESSS does not question the ultimate deadline set at 2026, but it believes that its proposal might lessen the impact of the changes on staff and managers who “are already under pressure and overworked”.
During its visit to the parliamentary committee in March, the association, which represents some 8,000 managers in the public network, had also recommended to the minister to proceed with a “very gradual withdrawal” of the independent workforce.
She called for a transition “in gradually successive phases in order to avoid service failures”.
Minister Christian Dubé’s office said on Monday that it was “listening” to the concerns submitted in the regulatory consultation process. It is recalled that “the objective is clear and remains the same”, namely “to abolish the use of agencies”.
“We are going to apply the regulations pragmatically and it is precisely for this reason that we are proceeding gradually: the regulations will come into force gradually […] over a three-year period,” the firm writes.
Rules that go wrong
The Private Companies of Caregivers of Quebec (EPPSQ) and the Quebec Regrouping of Residences for Seniors (RQRA) also wrote to the Ministry to express their criticisms, we learned.
At the heart of the main grievances: the discretionary power of the Minister of Health who may grant “due to exceptional circumstances” an authorization allowing the use of a personnel placement agency following the deadlines set by regulation.
This prohibition is accompanied by administrative and pecuniary sanctions for those who violate it.
The EPPSQ regrets that the draft regulation “does not provide for any alternative to the absolute discretionary power of the Minister” when it authorizes the use of an investment company beyond the deadlines. According to the association, this will mean “the return of over-the-counter contracts”.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The president of the grouping of private healthcare personnel companies in Quebec (EPPSQ), Patrice Lapointe
Late Monday evening, the MSSS confirmed to The Press that “the terms and conditions relating to exceptional situations will be the subject of a second regulation” and that “the work to this effect is currently in progress”.
However, in the absence of a framework, the EPPSQ considers that “the method [prévue actuellement] is devoid of transparency and opens the door to the establishment of a system of favouritism”.
The EPPSQ, which says it is in favor of better supervision of employment agencies, proposes, among other things, to establish a list of suppliers accredited by the government “who would be the only ones able to respond to public calls for tenders in the field of health “.
“Disappointed” RPAs
In a letter sent to the Ministry, the president and director general of the RQRA, Marc Fortin, said he was “disappointed overall” with the draft regulation and also called for “specific mechanisms” regarding “exceptional authorizations to use agencies”.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
President of the Quebec Regrouping of Residences for Seniors (RQRA), Marc Fortin
The RQRA also deplores “the undesirable effects” of the capped hourly rates per profession defined in the draft regulations – these are essentially the same rates as those set by decree during the pandemic. These rates are still too high for RPAs.
We are asking that Quebec lower them by 20% or provide exceptions for residences. The RQRA nevertheless welcomes the fact that the draft regulation prohibits agencies from invoicing incidental costs.
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