Letters: Where do Quebec politicians go for health care?

Montreal Gazette

3 days ago

It is frightening to be a patient requiring health care in Quebec.
The public sector is so strained that fatigued, overworked physicians can't help but eye the private sector. So we pay financially to go private, or we pay mentally, emotionally and physically when we go public. Either way, we pay.
I wonder: Where do politicians receive their health care? Do they feel entitled to skip the wait-line if they use the public system? Do they use the public system at all?
Is it unfair to conclude that politicians have no idea how it feels to wait and worry about getting care — as the rest of us do?
Health care management should be in the hands of medical people, not politicians.
Mary Armstrong, Montreal
Longtime reader saw it coming
Re: ' A bitter pill to swallow as family doctor shortage deepens ' (Allison Hanes, Aug. 6)
Allison Hanes's column is accompanied by a photo of François Legault when he was health minister with the Parti Québécois government two decades ago.
During those two decades, my wife has been warning in letters to The Gazette about the deteriorating situation in our health care system.
Today I need to say for her: 'She told you so!'
Arnold Yesovitch, Côte-St-Luc
Bill 21: Judges are the best arbitrators
Re: ' Supreme Court may be lifeline Legault needs ' (Opinion, Aug. 5)
Raphaël Melançon refers to former minister Benoit Pelletier's view that the use of the notwithstanding clause to shield Bill 21 against Charter of Rights challenges is justified because it ensures 'collective interests are fairly taken into account.'
It seems to me rather that the use of this clause enables the provincial government to be a judge in its own case as to whether its legislation is fair to the minorities whose rights it violates.
By contrast, the CAQ government could have instead attempted to persuade the courts that Bill 21 was 'reasonable and demonstrably justified,' as allowed by the Charter — a better guarantee of the bill's fairness — but chose not to take this path.
The fact that the judges are unelected, as referred to disparagingly by Melançon, is precisely the guarantee that they can judge Bill 21 according to its merits rather than public pressure.
Robert Hajaly, Montreal
The timely gift of Louise Penny
What a wonderful coincidence when I opened The Gazette!
On an annual visit to Montreal from their residence in Florida, our eldest son and his wife have added Knowlton to their 'getaway weekend.'
As a fervent reader of Louise Penny's writing over the years, I included her novel The Grey Wolf in their treats-to-go package.
With the creation of her café, so appreciated by the Knowlton community, I'm certain that the author's followers of her hero Insp. Armand Gamache will agree that 'goodness exists' via the gift of books.
Vivianne M. Silver, Côte-St-Luc
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