The Parti Québécois (PQ), one of the two main political parties in the Canadian
province of Québéc, has a good chance of winning the upcoming election next
month. It is therefore highly signiÞcant that the PQ has become the Þrst
major political party in North America to endorse access to alternative
medicine as a major plank in its party program.
According to the program, "Des Idées Pour Mon Pays" (Ideas for My Country),
the healing professions in general are in trouble. One solution, they
believe, is to expand the role of alternative treatments.
The program suggests that the restrictive Article 31 of the Medical
Law, hated by alternative practitioners, would be amended so as to redeÞne
what constitutes a medical act. In addition, an independent body would
be established, "composed of representatives of alternative therapists,
the public and the government." The purpose of this body would be to enroll
alternative therapists (les therapeutes) in a register that would be available
to the general public; to "certify" therapists in the non-toxic medical
disciplines; to spread information about therapies and therapists; to
establish norms for the certiÞcation of such therapists; to recognize
alternative professional associations; to accredit schools; etc.
Since alternative treatments now are not automatically covered by the
national health insurance, the PQ raises the possibility that it might
create a parallel alternative medicine health service. It also envisions
rewarding people who use alternative measures, i.e. "those who have had
the wisdom of adopting an attitude of prevention and maintaining themselves
in a state of health."
It also calls for "serious research on the efÞcacy of alternative treatments
and their integration into the health care system." Finally, it gives
to all the citizens of Québéc, "the freedom to use the therapy of their
choice and to consult the healer who suits them."
