Quebec health minister and doctors' federation reach agreement on GAP medical service
CBC
Quebec's Health Ministry and family doctors have reached an agreement to continue a service that helps connects patients without a family doctor to health-care professionals.
The Guichet d'accès à la première ligne (GAP) program, launched in 2022, goes further than the traditional 811 phone service by allowing people to speak with a nurse, get their symptoms assessed and, if necessary, book an appointment with a general practitioner.
Health Minister Christian Dubé and the Quebec general practitioners' federation (FMOQ) had agreed that family medicine groups (GMF) would take care of patients without a family doctor. An annual premium of $120 was paid for each patient registered with a GMF through the GAP.
But that agreement ended on May 31. Details of Thursday's agreement have yet to be made public.
Guillaume Charbonneau, vice-president of the FMOQ, said the fight is not about money.
"We are fighting to get full access to patients," he said.
The goal, he explained, has been to secure an agreement that ensures doctors are available and accessible to meet patient needs effectively.
"I think that if, on both sides, we put a little water in our wine, we could manage to reach an agreement," said Marc-André Amyot, president of the FMOQ, earlier in the day.
The dispute has had consequences for patients, as some clinics stopped offering appointments to patients registered for GAP.
About 18,000 appointments were available per week at the end of May. But since the start of June, that number has been declining fast. As of earlier Thursday, fewer than 1,400 appointments were available during the first week of July.
"I would like to thank the doctors who have decided to continue making appointments," Dubé said Thursday.
Clinics declining GAP patients had been, for some, part of a pressure tactic by Quebec family doctors as they negotiated the funding package.
But at the same time, Amyot said, availability may not be what it once was no matter the agreement. Some general practitioners delayed their retirement to meet patient demands, while Ontario doctors came to help in the Outaouais region.
Doctors are now retiring, and Ontario doctors are returning to their home province, he said.
Women and children staying at Regina Transition House now have access to Santa’s workshop — a safe space where mothers can choose Christmas gifts for their children.
A man from Powell River, B.C., is thankful to be alive after a stranger helped him while he was choking at a restaurant during a visit to Whistler.
When it comes to Hamilton readers' favourite library books of 2025, romance and mysteries are in close competition.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.
The racial reckoning of the COVID era saw Canada grapple with its checkered past — a process that led to statues of some foundational figures being removed, in some instances by force.
Holiday traditions are front and centre for many people at this time of year. But one Uxbridge family's Christmas tradition goes above and beyond the standard Christmas carols or holiday party.
A pedestrian is dead, and police are investigating following a collision in a north London parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.