Quiz question: Who said that? “People don’t call us at the district office to tell us about the voting method, they call us to tell us that they don’t have any daycare places, that they don’t have a family doctor, that their school is hard.” then there is a lack of space, then there is traffic on the street, then the grocery store is expensive. That’s what they tell us. »
Could it be PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon? Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for Solidarity? Oh no. It is actually CAQ Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault.
Since this observation comes from a deputy prime minister and is unflattering to her own government, we must admit that its clarity is surprising.
Especially since she did it on Friday when questioning the PQ leader about “the CAQ government’s broken promises since its election.” You can’t make this up.
Whether intentional or not, the fact remains that Ms. Guilbault has put her finger on a major problem. That of a Quebec whose public services are failing everywhere.
The Silent Revolution nevertheless gave us a modern, humanistic, just and cosmopolitan state. Where is the Quebec we all ultimately promised ourselves?
Today, citizens feel abandoned by a hyper-bureaucratized system that cares more about protecting itself than caring for people.
As proof, not a day goes by without another story about broken and often dehumanized public services making headlines.
Housing crisis and homelessness
It was only reported on Monday that thousands of social housing units have been idle for ten years. Overcrowded food banks are turning people away for the first time in 37 years.
That it takes more than 600 days to get a place in a CHSLD and that the worst is yet to come. Etc.
Not to mention the routine lack of access to a doctor. Clearly inadequate services for people with disabilities. From emergencies to inhumane waiting times.
Despite a commission of inquiry, a DPJ is still not functioning. Dilapidated schools, hospitals and CHSLDs. Thousands of exhausted caregivers.
The school system is also the most unequal in Canada. The rise in private profits in healthcare is worrying. More than 70% of home care workers’ time is spent on paperwork or traveling.
The real estate crisis is getting worse. Homelessness is exploding. Across Quebec, more than 10,000 people are homeless, including more than 3,000 women.
Lying alone in a bus stop
Thursday evening I saw a homeless woman, all alone, in a bus stop in the chic Mont-Royal plateau. She was sleeping on the floor. His only source of warmth was a baby blanket from Dollarama. Where are we as a society?
In short, it is as if Quebec has become a giant waiting room for helpless citizens. Our national motto is no longer “I remember” but rather “I’m still waiting on the waiting list.”
Meanwhile we hear about pride…
None of this is obviously spontaneous generation under the CAQ. Apart from a few rare good moves, including the creation of CPEs, all governments since the last referendum have weakened public services.
The real political and social problem is that, unless there are exceptions, the situation is not improving but is continuing to worsen.
