Quebec City, 31 March 2025 — The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec–FIQ  notes the end of the use of employment agencies in large urban areas such as Montreal and Quebec City, a long-standing union demand. However, without an efficient hiring and retention strategy, this transition risks aggravating the current crisis in the health network, exhausting healthcare professionals and compromising access to care.

“For more than 20 years, the FIQ has denounced the use of private agencies, which siphoned billions of dollars from public funds, while increasing the insecurity of care teams. We demanded a law from Minister Dubé to put an end to it and welcomed his will to take action. However, we warned that without solid support measures, this precipitous withdrawal would put the network in difficulty. Unfortunately, time is proving us right”, stated Julie Bouchard, President of the FIQ.

Admittedly, 4,100 caregivers from the agencies have joined the public network, but recruitment remains a major challenge. Worse still, the government itself is putting the brakes on recruitment by freezing positions and revising staffing requirements downwards by 20%. According to the Federation’s data, about 2,250 vacant positions have simply been eliminated. It makes no sense at all! In Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 71 nurses from independent labour (IL) left, but only 19 were re-hired. How can we hope to ensure continuity of care in these conditions?

“Staff shortages are already critical and this is leading to temporary bed closures, like in the Emergency Department at the hôpital du Suroît. Of the 18 institutions targeted in the first phase of the plan to stop using IL, the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest is the one most dependent on agencies. Yet in one year, it has recruited only 40 nurses and 15 licensed practical nurses. If things continue like this, patients will be the ones to suffer. And with a provincial budget that includes only a 3% increase for health care, combined with recent cuts of 1.5 billion dollars, it’s clear: the government is choosing to continue with its policy of austerity”, noted Ms. Bouchard.

The FIQ acknowledges the need to reduce agency costs – which cost taxpayers $2 billion in 2023-2024 – and welcomes the 50% reduction in the use of IL in one year. However, ending the use of agencies must go hand in hand with massive investment to stabilize teams and ensure staff retention. Otherwise, the pressure will fall back on healthcare professionals, forcing a return to mandatory overtime and accelerating the exodus to the private sector.

“The solution is simple:  it is absolutely essential to offer predictable schedules to better balance personal life and work, to put an end to job cuts and the recruitment freeze, and above all, to value the expertise of healthcare professionals in order to avoid a new exodus. It’s high time to invest in the care teams, instead of being content with celebrating the savings. The FIQ will continue to fight to ensure that this transition is not made at the expense of healthcare professionals or to the detriment of quality and access to care”, concluded the president of the FIQ.

About the FIQ

The FIQ represents over 80,000 nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists who work in healthcare institutions province wide. It is a feminist organization with an almost 90% female membership, dedicated to defending its members and the patients in the public health network.

Renseignements :

Philippe Desjardins
581 995-0762