Jean Charest’s efforts to convince the Quebec state to use more private healthcare might benefit a firm for which his daughter has worked as a lobbyist for several years.
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“It is time to consider an increased role for the private sector while ensuring access to a universal health care system,” pleaded the former Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, yesterday in a message published on a social network, in reaction to the agreement between the federal government and the provinces on health transfers.
However, his daughter, Alexandra Dionne Charest, has an active mandate for the telemedicine firm Dialogue, partly owned by Sun Life, White Star Capital and the Desmarais family.
In her mandate, Alexandra Dionne Charest emphasizes taking “steps concerning the sustainability of the reimbursement of telemedicine”.
Public funds
In the register, it is mentioned that Dialogue received between $512,057 and $601,693.22 in public funding from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation and more than $400,000 from Investissement Québec.
In interview at Journal last April, the CEO of Dialogue, Cherif Habib, confirmed that he was in discussion with the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
“There is no danger that it will take the place of the public. We are in a society in which the health system is universal and public”, he had insisted when questioned by The newspaper.
Jean Charest and Alexandra Dionne Charest did not respond to our interview requests yesterday.
–With the collaboration of Philippe Langlois