2024-01-08 09:00:00
Quebec is pulling out all the stops to recruit a talented manager to lead the new Santé Québec agency. The successful candidate will receive a salary of $543,000, in addition to performance incentives, Radio-Canada has learned.
Getting the Quebec health system back on its feet is priceless. Minister Christian Dubé had warned that he would not skimp on spending to attract a high-quality person from the private sector, a “ top gun ”, as he himself described it.
The CEO of the Santé Québec agency will have the mandate to coordinate the work of more than 300,000 employees of the health and social services network, distributed in 1,500 facilities (hospitals, CHSLDs, CLSCs, etc.) throughout the province.
Last year, Christian Dubé met around fifty managers from the business community to encourage them to take an interest in this future position as well as the half-dozen vice-president and vice-president positions that will be filled followingwards.
I can understand that, for ordinary people, a salary of $500,000 is enormous, but it is justified, according to Marie-Soleil Tremblay, professor at the National School of Public Administration and expert in governance.
The chances are that, among these candidates, there will be people who will cut their salaries two or three times to meet this societal challenge.
“Culture change”
The new agency must be created by June. The mandate of the top gun » health will be five years and renewable.
The chosen person will have to put an end to the “status quo” in the health network and bring regarding “a cultural change” to make it more effective, according to government wishes.
It takes someone who will be able to manage change, says Ms. Tremblay, especially if the government changes in 2026.
The trust between the minister and this new person is extremely important.
The CEO of the Santé Québec agency will earn as much as Minister Dubé ($231,000) and the Deputy Minister of Health ($310,000) combined. These three leaders will also have to learn to coordinate their actions. It is expected that the ministry will only have a guiding role and will move away from operations.
The Act to make the health and social services system more efficient (bill 15), adopted under gag order last month, indicates that Santé Québec will become the sole employer in the network and responsible for attraction and retention. Staff.
A job offer next week
According to our sources, the CEO position will be posted in mid-January for approximately one month. An independent selection committee will study the applications, but it is the council of ministers which will make the final decision.
Questioned by Radio-Canada, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) refused to communicate the details of the remuneration offered.
The working conditions of Santé Québec managers will be determined later by government decree, replied spokesperson Marie-Pierre Blier. It is therefore too early at this stage to comment on the subject.
According to our information, there was talk of allocating a vehicle and a driver to the CEO of the agency, a privilege granted to ministers, but to which deputy ministers are not entitled. The minister’s office, however, affirmed on Monday that there would be no driver, but a travel allowance.
Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia has a driver. The salary of the CEO of the Santé Québec agency will also be among the highest of Quebec state-owned companies.
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For comparison, Prime Minister François Legault earns an annual salary of $270,000 and his chief of staff, Martin Koskinen, earns $301,000.
The agency, whose head office will be in Quebec, will have a board of directors of 15 members, on which the CEO and the deputy minister will sit. Members will be appointed by the council of ministers.
The CEOs of the CISSS and CIUSSS will report directly to Santé Québec. Several of them earn between $250,000 and $300,000 per year, with the exception of the CEO of the McGill University Health Center, Lucie Opatrny, who earns a salary of $398,000.
The national director of public health, Luc Boileau, also assistant deputy minister, earns $336,000. His predecessor, Horacio Arruda, earned $330,000.
Union reaction
The Dubé reform reveals its true face, reacts the Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN). Disproportionate salaries for the “top guns” who will manage our network like a business and a wide open door to privatization.
According to the union, the CAQ government imports unacceptable salary practices from the private sector where CEOs pocket remuneration that is indecent compared to that of workers, without this guaranteeing better operations.
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