Appointment of Geneviève Biron | A “top gun” in private health at Santé Québec

The arrival of Geneviève Biron, who comes from the private health sector, is already raising eyebrows in the opposition and among the unions.

(Quebec) Christian Dubé sets his sights on a “ top gun » from private health to lead Santé Québec. The former boss of Biron Groupe Santé, Geneviève Biron, takes the reins of the state-owned company. Number 2 is a candidate of “the internal”, the CEO of the CHUM, Frédéric Abergel.

The choice of the minister stopped on a “ top gun », which comes not only from the private sector, but from the private health sector. It’s a decision that is already raising eyebrows among the opposition and the unions, who say they fear seeing the role of the private sector in health increase.

“I have often mentioned that it is not the work of a single person, but of a team,” argued the Minister of Health on Monday during a press conference in the ministry’s offices. of Health and Social Services (MSSS), which will house the head office of Santé Québec, in Quebec.

“Ms. Biron and Mr. Abergel are the complementary duo of managers that Quebecers need,” he argued, emphasizing that one comes from the external and the other, from the internal. The council of ministers met in an extraordinary manner in the morning to give the green light to the two appointments.

More than sixty candidates sent their applications to Quebec.

Geneviève Biron held various positions within Biron Groupe Santé, a company founded by her father, Denis Biron. She took charge in 2014, until her departure in 2021. M^me Biron notably set in motion the “largest network of medical imaging clinics” in Quebec, Imagix.

Since then, she has founded Propulia Capital, a capital investment platform which “participates in the growth of start-up companies”, particularly in health and life sciences.

The new boss of Santé Québec says she takes office with “a different perspective” and wants the public health network to become “even more beautiful” and “more efficient”.

The Legault government did not skimp on the means to attract a top gun from the private sector at the head of the state corporation. At the beginning of the year, Quebec revealed that the big boss would receive a base salary of $567,000 per year, in addition to a 15% bonus for the first two years of his mandate, which is equivalent to nearly $652,000 annually.

In comparison, the annual salary of Hydro-Québec CEO Michael Sabia is $639,000.

A Chinese wall

Geneviève Biron no longer holds any interest in Biron Groupe Santé, which is now managed by her sister, Caroline. To “eliminate any potential conflict of interest”, an “ethical screen, commonly called the Chinese wall” will be put in place “between her and the members of her family”, it was indicated.

Biron Groupe Santé, which specializes in medical imaging, health laboratories and sleep care, is registered in the register of lobbyists, because it makes “representations to government authorities in order to obtain contracts for the provision of health services. laboratory and health”. The MSSS confirmed on Monday that it had no current contract with the company.

Her husband, lawyer Sylvain Poirier, is also a senior strategic advisor for the public network. He was named Health Law Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in 2017, when his clientele consisted of both public and private establishments.

“In the appointment process, I was very transparent (…) We agreed to put in place this structure (…) which will provide the necessary distance,” she assured.

M^me Biron did not want to venture into developing the major priorities of his mandate. Moreover, it will last three years and not five years as initially planned. “This is what was agreed with Mr.^me Biron,” the minister’s office only clarified. She says she wants to emphasize access to care.

” Listen. I’m getting there. I will start by meeting people, building the team. It’s always the same thing. We need to give ourselves a little time to look at what is happening and really identify the priority issues and implement the action plan,” she explained without providing a timetable.

A first telephone interview with the CEOs of the establishments was scheduled for Monday afternoon. M^me Biron also wants to meet MSSS employees while there is currently still a lot of uncertainty around the transfer of personnel from the Ministry to Santé Québec.

A major challenge

With more than 330,000 employees, Santé Québec will become one of the largest employers in the country. It is certain that the future big boss will have to bring about a cultural change within the health and social services network.

“It’s a big challenge, no doubt. But, I have the ambition to be able to offer Quebecers the health system that they deserve. It will certainly not be done without difficulty, but I will be supported by a team to support this mission,” expressed M^me Biron.

M^me Biron will be supported by the current CEO of the CHUM, Frédéric Abergel, who becomes executive vice-president of operations and transformation. The creation of this position was not planned in Christian Dubé’s reform adopted under gag order in December. This is a recommendation of the transition committee.

“We were told that it was important to have a coordinator of our 35 CEOs, who we called our head of operations. It was not as such in the bill, but it came out clearly,” said Mr. Dubé.

“Like Geneviève, my first objective is to improve access for Quebecers. It must go through three ingredients: better coordination in the health system, global best practices and innovation,” expressed Mr. Abergel.

The latter will receive compensation of $453,000 to which is also added a 15% bonus for the first two years.

The 13 vacancies on the board of directors of Santé Québec were also coveted, with 800 people applying to sit there. Announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

With Tommy Chouinard, The Press