Quebec is considering imposing
financial penalties
(Quebec) Quebec is considering imposing financial penalties on new doctors who refuse to start their careers in the public, by forcing them to reimburse the cost of their training. This scenario would justify the use of the notwithstanding clause, according to François Legault.
The premier revealed Tuesday that his government is examining the possibility of linking financial penalties to Minister Christian Dubé's bill to force newly graduated doctors to practice to the public "during the first years" of their careers. Quebec says it wants to curb the exodus of young doctors to the private sector or to other provinces.
"Right now, we're looking at exactly: will it be penalties or would it be a non-debatable, negotiable obligation," Legault said in a press scrum Wednesday. Quebec is considering, for example, requiring a doctor who decides not to follow the obligation to start his career in the public to reimburse the cost of his training in Quebec faculties.
This is a scenario that Mr. Legault himself examined in 2003 when he was Minister of Education under a PQ government. "When I looked at this file, we had to use the notwithstanding clause," he said because "it puts young people who are poorer, who do not have the ability to repay, in a different situation from young people who are richer."
The Prime Minister admits that this would violate the right to equality under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms."Someone who wants to study medicine cannot go anywhere other than [the] four faculties [of medicine in Quebec]. So, if the four faculties require a certain number of years of work in the public sector [...] if there is a move, to reimburse the expenses can pose a problem regarding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but, if it is necessary, we are ready to use the notwithstanding clause," he said.
It's too important. We lack doctors, there is a lack of doctors all over the world. Well, the doctors who are trained at the taxpayers' expense in Quebec must practice in Quebec.
According to the government, "the training of a doctor, including residency, costs Quebec taxpayers between $435,000 and $790,000 and that the number of places to study medicine is limited."
According to data provided by Christian Dubé's office, 136 family doctors left the public plan during the first years of their practice, between 2020 and 2024. This number is 57 among medical specialists for the same period.
Concerned residentsThe Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec (FMRQ) has already argued that the Legault government's approach, with restrictive measures, would have "discriminatory effects." On Wednesday, the FMRQ did not want to comment in detail on the government's intention to use the notwithstanding clause.
"The FMRQ does not want to participate in the escalation of demagogic arguments on the backs of the next generation of doctors, but we observe that the government has strange ways of giving young people a taste for investing in the public network. Fortunately, 100% of medical residents already provide care to the population of Quebec on a daily basis, day, evening and night on average 72 hours a week," the federation wrote in a statement sent to La Presse.
Christian Dubé must table his bill by the end of the parliamentary session on December 7. The consultations should take place in the spring, the minister said. According to him, it will be an opportunity to have a broader debate on the place of the private sector in health.
The premier revealed Tuesday that his government is examining the possibility of linking financial penalties to Minister Christian Dubé's bill to force newly graduated doctors to practice to the public "during the first years" of their careers. Quebec says it wants to curb the exodus of young doctors to the private sector or to other provinces.
"Right now, we're looking at exactly: will it be penalties or would it be a non-debatable, negotiable obligation," Legault said in a press scrum Wednesday. Quebec is considering, for example, requiring a doctor who decides not to follow the obligation to start his career in the public to reimburse the cost of his training in Quebec faculties.
This is a scenario that Mr. Legault himself examined in 2003 when he was Minister of Education under a PQ government. "When I looked at this file, we had to use the notwithstanding clause," he said because "it puts young people who are poorer, who do not have the ability to repay, in a different situation from young people who are richer."
The Prime Minister admits that this would violate the right to equality under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms."Someone who wants to study medicine cannot go anywhere other than [the] four faculties [of medicine in Quebec]. So, if the four faculties require a certain number of years of work in the public sector [...] if there is a move, to reimburse the expenses can pose a problem regarding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but, if it is necessary, we are ready to use the notwithstanding clause," he said.
It's too important. We lack doctors, there is a lack of doctors all over the world. Well, the doctors who are trained at the taxpayers' expense in Quebec must practice in Quebec.
According to the government, "the training of a doctor, including residency, costs Quebec taxpayers between $435,000 and $790,000 and that the number of places to study medicine is limited."
According to data provided by Christian Dubé's office, 136 family doctors left the public plan during the first years of their practice, between 2020 and 2024. This number is 57 among medical specialists for the same period.
Concerned residentsThe Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec (FMRQ) has already argued that the Legault government's approach, with restrictive measures, would have "discriminatory effects." On Wednesday, the FMRQ did not want to comment in detail on the government's intention to use the notwithstanding clause.
"The FMRQ does not want to participate in the escalation of demagogic arguments on the backs of the next generation of doctors, but we observe that the government has strange ways of giving young people a taste for investing in the public network. Fortunately, 100% of medical residents already provide care to the population of Quebec on a daily basis, day, evening and night on average 72 hours a week," the federation wrote in a statement sent to La Presse.
Christian Dubé must table his bill by the end of the parliamentary session on December 7. The consultations should take place in the spring, the minister said. According to him, it will be an opportunity to have a broader debate on the place of the private sector in health.
