80 M$ Plan d’action interministériel
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Government announcement
5 March 2018

The government’s preventive health policy: Unprecedented joint action

80 M$ Plan d’action interministériel

Plan d’action interministériel 2017-2021 de la Politique gouvernementale de prévention en santé – une concertation sans…

Posted by Lucie Charlebois on Monday, March 5, 2018

The Government of Quebec Proposes Concrete Initiatives

Montréal, March 5, 2018 – Turning its commitments to improve the population’s health and quality of life into reality, the government will be investing $80 million over the next four years. Today, Lucie Charlebois, Minister for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection, Public Health and Healthy Living, unveiled the inter-ministerial action plan resulting from the government’s preventive health policy (PGPS).

Minister Charlebois was joined by Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services, Luc Fortin, Minister of Families, Laurent Lessard, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Geoffrey Kelley, Minister responsible for Native Affairs. More than 15 ministries and organizations worked closely together to draft the 2017–2021 inter-ministerial action plan.

This action plan is the best tool for planning and structuring the implementation of the PGPS. For each measure, it lists the actions being completed and those that will be deployed in the first phase of the PGPS’s implementation. This action plan groups together measures, committees and policies in a coherent whole. It covers financial assistance, support for organizations that offer services to families, the creation of a new practical guide for parents that covers the period between ages two and five, support for SMEs through financial aid programs for employers who want to implement a work-family balance, and support for new projects proposed by local communities to improve physical and economic access to healthy eating (e.g. community gardens, urban agriculture, mobile markets).

This action plan also aims to prevent and reduce preventable health issues and make advances regarding chronic illnesses, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) and mental health. Different measures will be taken to support healthcare and social services professionals during their interventions to promote healthy lifestyles or prevent chronic illnesses.

Quotes:

The government’s preventive health plan and inter-ministerial action plan allow us to act directly on factors that determine health, particularly people’s well-being and their physical environment. I am very proud of the concrete initiatives that will be put in place to reach our ambitious goals. I would like to thank all of our partners for their priceless collaboration in creating this plan and in all of the important steps that will lead to a Quebec where everyone will have the chance to grow, live and age more healthily.

– Lucie Charlebois, Minister for Rehabilitation, Youth Protection, Public Health and Healthy Living

With this plan, Quebec is acting as a forerunner by highlighting concrete actions to take and follow so that we can improve health and reduce inequality. The mobilization of more than fifteen ministries and organizations shows that preventive healthcare is a key issue for our government. We have every reason to act together and pool our strengths to ensure the success of this action plan.

– Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services  

I am happy to see how far this inter-ministerial action plan reaches when it comes to young people and families. Structuring measures in particular will be set up to support children at each stage of their development, and we will pay close attention to creating environments that foster success for both individuals and communities.

– Luc Fortin, Minister of Families

I am happy to support this ambitious and innovative plan which will enable us to, among other things, improve the nutritional value of Quebec food, increase access to healthy eating and encourage actions that promote the health and well-being of young people still in school. The vision behind this plan is closely linked to our future agri-food policy, which will be launched this spring.

– Laurent Lessard, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Our government is aware of the different realities and challenges specific to First Nations peoples. As such, I am happy to see that the measures that will be put in place take the cultural practices and characteristics of First Nations and Inuit peoples into account and I am convinced that, by continuing our collaboration with Indigenous representatives, we will be able to define and implement concrete and culturally sensitive actions to improve their quality of life.

– Geoffrey Kelley, Minister responsible for Native Affairs

Key facts:

The objectives and measures of the inter-ministerial action plan are based on four key concepts:

  1. Developing people’s abilities from a young age
  2. Setting up safe and secure communities and territories
  3. Improving living conditions to promote health
  4. Reinforcing preventive actions in the healthcare and social services system

The government’s preventive health plan, one of the first in North America, aims to act on a variety of factors to improve the population’s health and quality of life. To achieve this, the government gave itself nine concrete goals to reach by 2025, which will change healthcare so that each person is able to reach his or her full potential and participate in the sustainable development of society.

Related link:

For more details: http://www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.php