There’s growing unease in Western Quebec’s medical community, and for good reason. After months of tension, Premier François Legault’s government has passed a pair of controversial bills that have many family doctors thinking seriously about leaving the province altogether.
It started with Bill 106, introduced earlier this year, which aimed to link physician pay to performance targets, in other words, the more patients a doctor sees, the more they earn. The idea was to make family medicine more “efficient,” but doctors warned it would push them toward rushed, assembly-line care. Many stopped teaching medical students in protest, calling it a dangerous move that put quantity ahead of quality.
Then came Bill 2, passed in record time last weekend. This one goes even further, imposing penalties on doctors who take part in what the province calls “concerted actions,” like refusing to teach or cutting back services in protest. The government framed it as a way to keep Quebecers from being caught in the middle, but to many doctors, it felt like a threat.
According to recent surveys, dozens of Outaouais doctors are actively looking at opportunities in Ottawa, while many more are quietly exploring their options. With Ontario hospitals openly recruiting and hundreds of positions available, the lure is real and growing.
Critics, including Pontiac MNA André Fortin, say the government’s heavy-handed approach is backfiring. Instead of motivating doctors to stay, it’s pushing them out of the system. “We should be retaining and attracting physicians,” Fortin said, “not driving them to retire early or move across the river.”
Legault’s government insists these measures are necessary to ensure that Quebecers finally get access to family doctors. But for those on the front lines, the new laws have done little but deepen frustration and fear.
If things continue this way, Western Quebec could soon face an even greater shortage of physicians, and the bridge to Ontario might start looking like the only road left to relief.
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