Montreal, February 26th, 2018: Launch of the Provincial Caregiver Support Strategy Under the Theme:
«To Value and Support Caregivers, these essential allies for a fair Quebec»
On Thursday March 1st at 10:00 am at the Centre St-Pierre, the Regroupement des aidants naturels du Québec will reveal its Provincial Caregiver Support Strategy.
According to Statistics Canada, one quarter of the population in the province of Quebec is a caregiver. More than a third of them has dedicated more than 5 hours of care per week for 4 years, and 57% of them are part of the active workforce holding a regular paid job while at the same time being caregivers. Replacing these millions of hours given by caretakers would annually cost the provincial government approximately between 4 to 10 billion dollars. No matter the condition of the person being taken care of, caregivers are all confronted to similar situations: adapting to their caregiver role, juggling work or studies while taking care of someone at home, risk of exhaustion, lack of recognition by the health services, need of respite and relief, impoverishment, etc. Becoming a caregiver piles on another role, therefore the choice of not assuming the entirety of the care & services provided to the person helped – and the consequences thereof – is a right.
This Provincial Strategy is meant to be comprehensive, meaning that it reaches caregivers in all their diversity and that of their loved ones being taken care of. It acts on several systemic determinants allowing effective support for caregivers: rights, access to services, job-studies responsibilities and financial security. Finally, we call it comprehensive since it challenges the government on many levels: health and social services, income, transportation, education, work, etc. and opens the way to common collaborations with different parties such as such as community organizations and research communities.
Here is the course of the press conference:
- 10:00 am Greetings
- 10:30 am Word of Introduction by Ms. Mélanie Perroux, RANQ General Coordinator
- 10:40 am Speech by Ms. Johanne Audet, RANQ President
- 10:55 am Speech by Mr. David Turcotte, MP for St-Jean and spokesperson on Social Services for the Parti Québécois
- 11:00 am Speech by Mr. François Paradis, MP for Lévis for Coalition Avenir Québec and spokesperson of the second opposition group on Health & Social Services
- 11:05 am Speech by Mr. Amir Khadir, MP for Mercier for Québec Solidaire
- 11:10 am Questions from the audience
- 11:30 am Interviews with the media
Venue: Marcelin-Champagnat Room (304) at the Centre St. Pierre
Located at: 1212 Panet Street in Montreal, H2L 2Y7
Contact Information: Mélanie Perroux, Général Coordinator, coordination@ranq.qc.ca or (514) 524- 1959
Download the Press Release
