Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant is leaving his position in the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government and says he will sit as an Independent.
The longtime minister announced the decision, which he called difficult and “heart-wrenching,” alongside Premier François Legault on Thursday morning.
“The last few weeks have been difficult and have led me to refocus my priorities,” he said in the news conference. “I am choosing my family.”
Sonia Bélanger, the minister responsible for housing, will replace Carmant as minister responsible for seniors and social services, Legault announced Thursday afternoon.
Caroline Proulx, who was previously responsible for seniors, will take on the housing file.
Carmant resigns day after daughter’s open letter
Carmant resigns as doctors across Quebec prepare a legal challenge against the province’s special law — Bill 2 — which imposes a salary structure on doctors.
The federation representing medical specialists in Quebec officially filed its legal challenge on Wednesday, saying the government’s law is draconian and that it violates several charter rights.
The federation is asking the court to suspend the most onerous parts of the legislation immediately until the case can be fully argued on its merits.
Several doctors have already said they will be leaving Quebec’s public health-care system and dozens have already begun applying for licences to practise in other provinces in response to Health Minister Christian Dubé’s special law.
Among the doctors considering leaving Quebec is Carmant’s daughter, who is a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine. In a letter published in Le Devoir on Wednesday, Laurence Carmant said she might move elsewhere in Canada if the government does not “allow her to practise freely.”
“I will unfortunately have no other choice but to leave for another province,” she wrote.
The longtime CAQ minister made the announcement alongside Premier François Legault. Lionel Carmant says the past few weeks have been difficult, but that he’s choosing his family.
She said the system is broken and invited Dubé to rethink the health-care system as a whole, rather than “blaming individuals.”
The minister did not directly comment on his daughter’s letter in the news conference.
Sending a strong message, says opposition
Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière called Carmant a very good minister, friend and neighbour.
“It’s a tough moment to be honest, but I do understand his position,” said Lafrenière Thursday.
Marc Tanguay, Quebec Liberal Party health critic, said the letter published by Carmant’s daughter sends a strong message to Legault.
“She’s a super specialist, she has the right to express herself and the fact that she decided to write a letter … says a lot,” he told reporters, following Carmant’s announcement.
“As a father, I can see the stress that it put within the family relationship.”
Québec Solidaire MNA Manon Massé, who recently announced she is stepping back from politics, says the government has lost an “excellent minister.”
“And that makes me sad because we were able to talk with him. So the CAQ, I don’t know where it’s going,” she said.
Before politics, Carmant was a pediatric neurologist at CHU Sainte-Justine. He was elected as the member for Taillon in 2018 and served as the junior minister for health and social services from 2018 to 2022.
In his address on Thursday, he said it’s not easy to leave behind files he is passionate about.
Legault thanked Carmant and said he is “grateful” for what he has accomplished.
