By Paul Allard, President of Données Souveraines Québec
With the green light given to the electronic patient record project, Quebec is at a crossroads. Will we seize this historic opportunity to truly protect our health data?
Before his departure as minister responsible for cybersecurity, Gilles Bélanger had begun sounding the alarm. Since then, other expert voices have risen to denounce what dangerously resembles a digital capitulation on the part of Santé Québec in deploying its digital health record system with American company Epic Systems.
A Technological Smoke Screen Masking a Legal Reality
Santé Québec's reassurances about data security amount to magical thinking. As Dr. Lawrence Leroux, a physician and AI researcher, was quoted saying: "under American law, jurisdiction follows company ownership, not server location." Thus, regardless of where Epic hosts the data, it could remain subject to certain American legislation, notably the Cloud Act.
This legal reality renders all the technical certifications brandished by Epic a mere smoke screen.
A Historic Opportunity to Seize
The creation of Santé Québec represents an extraordinary chance to do things differently. Quebec's technology ecosystem now possesses the skills to develop sovereign solutions. Our companies master secure hosting, electronic medical records, interoperability, and even privacy-respecting medical AI.
The choice of a sovereign solution is not merely a matter of principle. It is a strategic investment in our technological and economic future. Every dollar spent in Quebec's ecosystem creates jobs here, develops our expertise, and strengthens our capacity for innovation.
Health data is not merchandise like any other. It constitutes the most precious informational heritage of a society. Once it leaves our jurisdiction, there is no going back.
Paul Allard — President, Données souveraines Québec