VOLUME 10 No. 5 | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Vital - your APTS television and web campaign

Province-wide contract talks with the government are revving up again this fall, and we think this might be the right time to remind the government of the professions we represent.

A TV and Internet ad produced over the summer perfectly captures our members’ spirit: young, contemporary, and dynamic. Fifteen APTS members from fifteen different regions are involved. The ad will air for the first time on September 12 at the beginning of Radio-Canada’s “En direct de l’univers” program. Stay tuned for more details!

ORGANIZATION OF WORK AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
CHSLDs: tell your story

The Québec Ombudsperson's Office (Protecteur du citoyen) is currently investigating the management of the COVID-19 crisis in Québec CHSLDs. Residents, informal caregivers and employees directly affected by the situation between March and June 2020 are invited to provide their input. A survey questionnaire for staff working in CHSLDs can be found on the Protecteur du citoyen website. All responses will be handled confidentially. Don’t hesitate to tell your story – this will provide insights for the inquiry into government handling of the crisis.

SOCIO-POLITICAL ACTION
Members of the Black community are making themselves heard

Over the summer, the resurgence of the battle against racism in the United States has stirred questions and debate in Québec society. Connections between systemic racism and systemic sexism are described by Laure Letarte-Lavoie, 4th APTS vice-president and officer responsible for socio-political action, in a BlueAPTS article.

We also asked two APTS delegates from Montréal’s Black community to share their stories and their ideas about moving forward. You can read the interview in BlueAPTS.

If you've come up against the realities of racism, please share your experiences with us at sociopolitique@aptsq.com.

Campaign to change the voting system

The APTS is part of the Coalition for Electoral Reform Now! to change our voting system so that every vote will finally count. The findings of the consultations on Bill 39 that were carried out in early 2020 must be applied to improve the bill, and electoral reform must be implemented in Québec. Support and share the letter written by the MDN (Mouvement Démocratie nouvelle)!

Signed by Mélanie Bernier, the 5th APTS vice-president, the letter was published last week in both La Presse + and Le Soleil.

Petition to keep the mother-child centre open in Valleyfield

The mother-child centre (Centre mère-enfant) at the Hôpital du Suroît is slated to be transferred to a hospital that will open in Vaudreuil-Soulanges in 2026. The APTS is opposed to this plan and invites you to sign a petition against it on the National Assembly website. The mother-child centre was established in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield thanks to donations from people living in the area. Closing it will mean that families in the Haut-Saint-Laurent and Beauharnois-Salaberry areas are deprived of local services, and will reinforce the concentration of gynecological services in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area. The APTS strongly criticized the planned relocation in a press release on August 5.