Quebec bill would fine new doctors up to $200K per day for leaving public system
CBC
The Legault government will require Quebec-trained doctors, both general practitioners and specialists, to work in the public health-care system for the first five years of their careers, under threat of stiff fines.
A bill to this effect was introduced at the National Assembly Tuesday afternoon by Health Minister Christian Dubé. It will be studied in 2025.
"We are giving ourselves the means to ensure that the population has access to the care for which they pay," Dubé said in a news release.
Bill 83, titled An Act to Foster the Practice of Medicine in the Public Health and Social Services Network, includes fines for violators ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 per day, with repeat offences incurring fines of $40,000 to $200,000.
On Tuesday morning, the three opposition parties expressed an agreement in principle, but said they would need to examine the bill in detail before taking a stance.
In a recent statement, the Quebec College of Physicians also argued that new medical graduates should not be allowed to practise privately at the start of their careers.
Its president, Mauril Gaudreault, suggested a potential 10-year prohibition, though he said the exact length would need discussion.
By taking this approach, Quebec aims to curb the growing trend of doctors leaving for the private sector.
Currently, 775 of Quebec's 22,479 doctors work exclusively in private practice — a 70 per cent increase since 2020, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Premier François Legault has long considered barring new doctors from working privately.
While serving as education minister under Parti Québécois premiers Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry, Legault proposed requiring new doctors who moved to Ontario or the United States to reimburse their training costs.
However, this conflicted with Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Moving away is still something the province is concerned about. In a news release, the government says, "a significant number of physicians trained in Quebec are leaving the province for other jurisdictions. This phenomenon is once again significant among new physicians."
Last month, the premier hinted that his government might need to pre-emptively invoke the notwithstanding clause to achieve its goals.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
City staff are working on long-term plans to prevent toxic and smelly algae blooms at the Hamilton harbour – and short-term plans to mitigate blooms when they happen – but are cautioning residents that it's not the type of problem with a quick fix.
Another blockade of the Ambassador Bridge wouldn't play out like what happened in February 2022 — thanks to police being empowered to act faster and harder, according to a report that's going to Windsor city council next week.
On the first day of 2025, Alberta's default electricity rate is set to be replaced by the new "rate of last resort," in what the province says is a bid to protect consumers from a volatile electricity pricing landscape.
Canadians and Americans sit next to each other in the stands of a small Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., hockey arena to watch the Soo Thunderbirds face off against their cross-border rivals, Michigan's Soo Eagles.
A number of school bus routes in northwestern Ontario have been cancelled Wednesday after a dump of snow overnight in the region. A number of weather advisories also remain in effect in the region, including snow squall warnings in the Greenstone area.
Waterloo regional councillors have voted down a motion that would have asked the Waterloo Regional Police Service to cut $4 million from its proposed 2025 budget.
Residents of a neighbourhood in the heart of downtown Charlottetown hope to have a community garden in place on some vacant land by the time spring arrives.
Planting trees is a popular way to mitigate climate change, but in northern and Arctic regions, it may not be an effective solution.
The RCMP says it's considering deploying Mounties-in-training to help police the Canada-U.S. border as political anxiety over border control mounts in the face of tariff threats from the incoming Trump administration.
Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were honoured Tuesday night before the Calgary Flames played the Columbus Blue Jackets, on the same ice where Johnny etched his place as a cherished member of the city's hockey community.