Challenges to the Reintegration of the Mentally Ill in Quebec, Canada

Abstract

With a population of about 6.5 million people, Quebec is Canada's second largest province, after Ontario. Approximately 80% of the province is of French origin and 10% , of English origin; the remainder belong to several cultural groups, Italians, Greeks, and Vietnamese predominating. About 60% of the population live in cities of more than 20,000 people. Montreal has a metropolitan population in excess of 2.3 million people. In the Canadian system, responsibility for health and social services rests mostly with each of the ten provinces; however, the federal government subsidizes each province to the tune of approximately 45 % of the expenses linked with medical care and hospitalization, including psychiatric hospitalization. Health and social services come under the aegis of a governmental agency called the Ministry of Health and Social Services [1], which has a budget of more than $4 billion (Canadian) a year. Attempts to decentralize authority and management are carried out at the level of Quebec 's 13 regional councils of health and social services, which are responsible for the planning, coordination, and integration of all services within their respective territories. These territories can range from 13,000 inhabitants in rural areas to more than