Reform Dubé: This official will deliver Health Quebec

While Christian Dubey will lead his defense of health reform, Deputy Minister Dominique Savoie will be responsible behind the scenes for carrying out a wider overhaul of the health network.

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“This reform is the Savoy reform. He has a lot of influence over Minister Dubey, who adheres to his vision of things,” corroborated a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Health Minister Christian Dubey will see his role as chairman of a company’s board of directors, his former chief of staff estimated.

“He says Mr.^me Savoy is like a general manager shop, that she takes care of the activities. He is there to speak on behalf of the stakeholders, the Quebecers,” explained Jonathan Valois.

Also, Christian Dubey does not question the importance of this superior, who sees a confident woman.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without her. She has to retire at some point, but if I can extend her, I want her here until we deliver. [Santé Québec]”, he said in an interview.

Dominique Savoy, who became deputy health minister amid the pandemic, took the lead in managing the second wave of COVID-19. Later, at the request of Christian Dubé, he wrote the Savoie report on the governance of the health and social services network, which inspired the bill creating Sainte-Québec.

According to our information, Mr.^me Savoy was considering retirement after filing his report last June. But a discussion with Christian Dubey convinces her to change her plans.

“Mr. Dubé really wanted him to continue,” said Pascal Mailhot, a former adviser to Prime Minister Legault’s office.

As a result, the deputy minister will be called upon to play an important role in the reform of the health network: between now and the appointment of the president of the board of directors of Sainte-Québec, he will be the leader of the transition. The committee was responsible for abolishing the regional agencies CISSS and CIUSSS and consolidating the network’s 34 institutions into a central body.

During this move, 30% to 40% of the employees of the Ministry of Health will be transferred to the new organization.

It is this small group of managers who, among other things, decide which employees to transfer. For example, he must make recommendations for all changes necessary for the creation of Sainte-Québec, including the integration of computer systems.

“As head of this group, Dominique Savoie will have a lot of influence, underlines our anonymous source. By electing civil servants who go to Health Quebec, it will color the system. They will show the “top guns”. [du secteur privé] How to do their job when they come.”

Besides M^me Savoie pointed out that Christian Dubey’s cabinet would make up “actors from different backgrounds” including “people on the ground” in the transformation team.

“We know this is a big culture change and we will do things properly,” it said.

Portrait

“Nobody could clean it, and she came in and fixed it.”

This is what many former collaborators of M^me It was Savoy who rubbed shoulders with him at various periods in public service.

In the early 2000s, the Deputy Minister of Health worked in the regional office of the Ministry of Employment and Social Cohesion in Montreal. It is time for a major reform in the sector after federal employment services were returned to Quebec.

“He took care of the repatriation, which was a real headache in Montreal. Since his column, there are no more problems,” explained a former collaborator, whose identity cannot be disclosed.

Later, as Deputy Minister of Transport from 2011 to 2016, Dominique Savoie had to implement the resulting recommendations of the Charbonneau Commission in particular.

on the side

“He is a very tough person, a tireless worker, who can easily understand a very complex situation and propose solutions to deal with it,” said the former Liberal minister. Pierre Moreau who worked with him.

But in 2016, Dominique Savoy found herself in the midst of turmoil when she found herself “sidelined” on the executive board when the transport ministry faced allegations of irregularities.

“It was very difficult for her to find herself in the middle of a partisan war when she had nothing to be ashamed of,” recalls Pierre Moreau.

When he was appointed as Minister of Energy, Mr. Moreau asked Philippe Couillard, the Secretary General of the Government, to be his deputy minister.

“At the time, the CAQ was the second opposition party, and Eric Keir asked very insidious questions about it. I was warned that it was going to cause sparks, but with someone competent, I could easily deal with that,” he explained.

Mr. Moreau judges what he sees today as “rather paradoxical.”^me Savoie received its “certificate of excellence” despite the CAQ’s authority.

“He must look like a little goat, Mr. Cairo, when he meets her in the corridor,” quipped the ex-minister.

until the end

Jonathan Valois, Christian Dubé’s former chief of staff, worked closely with M for two years.^me Savoy.

“She was an exceptional woman,” he said.

When it was pointed out to him that it was unusual to see a civil servant handling such an important reform at the end of his career, Mr. Valois nodded.

“We are facing a real mandarin of the state of Quebec, a sign of his commitment,” he said, referring to these senior officials who remain in place despite government changes.

“It will be the high point of his career,” said Pascal Mailhaut. It is logical that she is the one who is changing the health network. He is probably the person most familiar with the bill.”