When the François Legault government announced it was abandoning a $100-million infrastructure project at Montreal’s Dawson College to instead prioritize funding for “francophone” students, it caught everyone off guard.
The funding for Quebec’s largest English-speaking CEGEP would have addressed the college’s decades-long overcrowding issues. But more importantly, in the context of the state of the health-care system, the funding would have helped create a brand-new student-run health clinic that would not only serve real patients, but also provide training for students to become nurses, technologists in diagnostic imaging, ultrasound, radiation oncology, among others — health professionals that the province is seriously lacking.
After announcing the province’s plans to usher in major health-care reform on Tuesday, Health Minister Christian Dubé said in an interview on The Elias Makos Show on CJAD 800 that he is open to reconsidering the government’s Dawson decision.
“If I realize that it will be negative to what we’re saying, I will have to contact my minister of education to make sure that we understand the impact of that decision,” Dubé said.
During the interview, the health minister defended the CAQ government after he was challenged on the controversial decision. He said he and his ministers “are on the same page” and that with the new health-care reform, he is open to changing some government decisions. Part of the government’s plan is to hire approximately 1,000 nurses from abroad to address the nursing shortage.
“You’re raising a good point, and I’m just saying it’s my duty after listening to points like the one you’re raising to see if there is something that I can do about it.
So I’m just saying that this is the time that I have between now and the election to make sure that if some adjustments are needed, they’ll be done.”
Outraged by the decision from Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Danielle McCann, to shelve the project, members of the Dawson Student Union went to Quebec City two weeks ago to deliver a petition with more than 20,000 signatures demanding the government reverse course.
Over the last few weeks, the college says it has tried in vain to organize a meeting with provincial officials to help get the expansion project, which has been seven years in the making, off the ground.
Health Minister Christian Dubé speaks to CJAD 800