Quebec's New Health Care Law Sparks Province-Wide Clash with Doctors | The Walrus

"Over the past seven years, he has repeatedly used extraordinary parliamentary tools to consolidate power and sidestep democratic scrutiny. The premier has invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield two major laws from Charter challenges-effectively placing them beyond judicial review-and has relied on closure to ram through contentious legislation by cutting off debate. Most recently, the CAQ used closure again to fast-track Bill 2, a move that underscores Legault's preference for control."

"It tries to do this by completely overhauling the way doctors are paid, tying compensation to performance metrics that doctors call unrealistic, especially after the government's own $1.5 billion in health care cuts led to the very shortages and delays it now claims to want to fix. These cuts have severely compromised the system's efficiency and have left staff with fewer resources and restricted access to medical care-problems well beyond doctors' control."

"Seven years later, roughly 1.5 million Quebecers still remain without a family physician. Premier Legault now believes he can get every Quebecer access to a health care professional by 2026 (coincidentally a provincial election year), even though access to a general practitioner remains difficult, waitlists to see a specialist have almost doubled in the past five years, and surgery waitlists remain high, with nearly 30 percent of operating rooms in the province's public"

François Legault has repeatedly used extraordinary parliamentary tools, invoking the notwithstanding clause and closure to shield laws from judicial review and cut off debate. The CAQ's legislation overhauls physician compensation, tying pay to performance metrics that doctors call unrealistic, especially after the government's own $1.5 billion in health care cuts produced shortages, delays, and reduced resources. The law threatens physicians' constitutional right to dissent by imposing fines up to $20,000 per day for public protest. Approximately 1.5 million Quebecers lack a family physician. Premier Legault aims universal access by 2026 despite longer specialist and surgery waitlists and strained operating-room capacity.

Read at The Walrus