MontrealA group of medical specialists staged a protest outside the National Assembly Tuesday wearing tape over their mouths to represent the metaphorical gag they say the health minister’s special law, Bill 2, has imposed on them. The federation representing family doctors says some are already leaving.Doctors’ federation says about 25 GPs have announced plan to quit since Bill 2 passedListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), Dr. Vincent Oliva, announced the group was filing a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the law. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)About 25 family doctors have already said they will be leaving Quebec’s public health-care system in response to Health Minister Christian Dubé’s special law, the federation representing the doctors told Radio-Canada Tuesday. Whether they’re leaving the province or the profession entirely is unclear, but what is clear is the growing frustration the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s Bill 2 continues to spark among health-care professionals. “Doctors are angry, they don’t know how else to say it to the government. It’s tragic what’s happening in Quebec currently,” said the president of the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), Dr. Marc-André Amyot.Now, the federation representing medical specialists in Quebec is filing a lawsuit Wednesday to challenge the law, its president, Dr. Vincent Oliva, announced Tuesday morning. The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) will also request a stay of execution, adding that the “violation of individual liberties” will be at the heart of its arguments.Last week, the FMOQ said it was considering doing the same. The bill, adopted early Saturday morning less than 24 hours after it was tabled, forces a new remuneration system on doctors, where a portion of their compensation will now be linked to performance targets relating to the number of patients, particularly vulnerable ones, they care for.”There is really great distress,” said Oliva, speaking at a news conference in Quebec City. “I’m ready to take responsibility for things that are under my control. I don’t control the organization of care…. What we’re saying is we need resources.”WATCH | What Bill 2 gets wrong, according to some doctors:Will Quebec’s new law actually help patients see a doctor faster? Doctors say noQuebec’s Bill 2 ties a portion of doctors’ pay to collective performance targets, a measure that many doctors argue won’t have the intended effect. They’re also criticizing elements of the bill that could punish those who speak out or try to leave the province’s public system. Dubé, for his part, is refusing to back down in the face of growing criticism, saying that his job is to “protect the patient.”“These are big changes that we’re asking them,” he said, referring to medical specialists. “I understand their reaction and that’s their right to [take] this legal procedure.”Globe and Mail health columnist André Picard says he’s not sure angering doctors will serve patients overall. He says the government should have sought co-operation rather than holding “a gun to people’s heads.” “Quebec has failed its negotiation. You know, there’s been four offers, they’ve all been very similar. The doctors have rejected them so you get back to the table and you have to figure it out,” he said.LISTEN | Breaking down Bill 2 for patients:Daybreak Montreal12:23What does Bill 2 mean for you, as a patient?The CAQ’s new bill will change how doctors are paid and levy fines on those who don’t follow the new system. Olivier Jacques, professor at the school of Public Health at Université de Montreal, joins Daybreak’s Sean Henry to explain why the changes are causing so much consternation.Earlier on Tuesday, a group of medical specialists staged a protest outside the National Assembly, standing with tape over their mouths to symbolize the “gag” imposed on them by the government, as one protester described it.The CAQ invoked closure to rush the adoption of Bill 2, which allows it to end debate and force a vote. But the FMSQ argues the gag metaphor goes even further, saying the law creates a surveillance system where doctors can be reported if there’s a disruption in service. The law also forbids doctors from taking “concerted actions” that negatively affect access to and quality of services — such as the pressure tactics adopted by medical specialists during their contract negotiations with the government last month. The law allows fines of up to $20,000 per day for physicians in contravention of that clause.A concerted action would be, for example, a group of doctors deciding to leave the public health system. However, the exact minimum number of doctors required to constitute this group is unclear, as there is no consensus between the English and French versions of the law. “We still live in a state of law,” said Amyot. “The freedom to retire or move somewhere else still exists, I would hope.”Picard says the fines are part of what makes the law problematic, noting it takes aim at those who are critical of it. “This is a discussion we need to have publicly and loudly and if the government really believes that this law is good then it should be willing to listen to the discussion and have a fulsome debate about it,” he said.ABOUT THE AUTHORCassandra Yanez-Leyton is a journalist for CBC News based in Montreal. You can email her story ideas at cassandra.yanez-leyton@cbc.ca.With files from Steve Rukavina
Quebec doctors prepare legal challenge against provinces special law as backlash grows
