Treatment guarantee: Santé Québec’s implementation delays come at patients’ expense

Montreal, July 29, 2026 – The pilot project allowing patients waiting more than a year for surgery to be operated on in private clinics, on the government dime, has still not seen the light of day, and 3,641 Quebecers are paying the price. That’s what we learned from Le Devoir this morning.

“The treatment guarantee was supposed to act as a safety valve, allowing Quebec patients failed by Santé Québec to finally get the treatment they need,” says Renaud Brossard, vice president of communications at the MEI. “While patients suffer, Santé Québec officials seem to favour maintaining their monopoly over treating patients.”

Announced in December 2025, the treatment guarantee was supposed to be in place this spring. Despite numerous proposals received from specialized medical centres to carry out these surgeries, Santé Québec has still not implemented the program. According to the Crown corporation, implementation should happen in the coming months.

Although 3,641 patients have been on waiting lists for surgery for over a year, Santé Québec estimates that only 300 Quebecers will be able to benefit from this pilot project and receive treatment in the private sector, covered by the RAMQ.

Rather, Santé Québec hints at a surgical catch-up scheme by which the number of patients waiting over a year could shrink to 1,000 by the spring of 2028, if all goes according to plan.

Yet, treatment guarantees are a proven model. In Sweden, for example, a patient waiting more than 90 days to receive care has the right to be treated privately, paid for by the health facility having exceeded the prescribed time limit.

In Denmark, the treatment guarantee kicks in after a wait of 30 days.

“The treatment guarantee works in Europe, notably because healthcare administrators recognize that excessive wait times mean the system is failing, and weigh heavily on patients’ quality of life,” adds Mr. Brossard. “The Quebec treatment guarantee was already less ambitious than those that exist elsewhere. It’s a shame to see that civil servants have managed to make it even less promising.”

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The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

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