Dear Editor,
Having once believed the Quebec healthcare system could not possibly be abused any further – after decades of Quebec Liberal penny-pinching, damaging reforms that favoured big cities over rural communities, and the abolition of hospital boards – the CAQ proved me wrong. Under its watch, Quebec has endured the reckless dismantling of its institutions. The CAQ, in my opinion, has taken a sledgehammer to the Canadian Constitution. Bills 21, 40, 96, and 94 are just a few examples, as well as the gutting of our education system in pursuit of a delusional neo-separatist agenda that divides rather than unites.
I had thought that was the worst of it, but the CAQ continues to find new ways to undermine the public trust. Bill 2 is not reform – it is regression dressed as progress. Instead of working with Quebecers to strengthen public institutions, the CAQ governs through centralization and control, repeating the same patterns that have failed our province for decades. Like the Liberals and PQ before them, they chase ideology over practicality, leaving rural regions and ordinary people to bear the cost.
The impact of Bill 2 has been catastrophic. More than 200 doctors have already applied to leave the province – many bound for Ontario, where funding is stronger, governments less authoritarian, and professionals treated with respect. Here in the Outaouais, department heads are resigning, specialists leaving, and hospitals struggling to function as resources dry up and morale collapses.
This crisis is amplified in rural regions like ours. Residents of Pontiac and the broader Outaouais must travel immense distances for care, with hospitals spread thinly across a vast territory, large enough to fit the Island of Montréal more than sixty times. Every shortage, every resignation, and every closure endangers thousands who already face long and uncertain journeys to reach essential care.
Making matters worse is the complacency of our local MPP, André Fortin – whom I deliberately refer to by that title, since calling him an “MNA” implies membership in a so-called “National Assembly,” and Quebec is not a nation. While Fortin is not responsible for Bill 2, he is complicit in the broader healthcare crisis through his role in Bill 10 and his failure to repair its damage. Despite criticizing the CAQ, he has offered no plan to restore local decision-making or decentralize services. Fortin helped oversee Bill 10, one of the most damaging reforms in provincial history. That law dismantled regional health boards, centralized power in Québec City, and stripped communities of decision-making authority. For Pontiac, a region spanning nearly 14,700 square kilometres and served by only one hospital in Shawville, this loss of autonomy has been devastating. Local leaders can no longer tailor solutions to local needs; bureaucrats hundreds of kilometres away now decide our fate.
Quebecers deserve leadership that values unity over division, accountability over arrogance, and service over ideology. Our province is strongest when it embraces its dual heritage, respects its place within Canada, and protects the institutions that bind us together.
Will Twolan, Luskville, CaPQ Candidate for Pontiac
