QUÉBEC — Quebec Premier François Legault is extending an olive branch to the province’s doctors amid a fight over a new law that changes how physicians are paid.
Legault said Tuesday he wants to restart talks with doctors about the terms of his government’s payment reform bill, which was fast-tracked through the provincial legislature late last month.
The new law ties part of physicians’ remuneration to performance targets, and threatens steep fines for those who use pressure tactics to boycott the changes. Doctors have been up in arms since the law was adopted, arguing it muzzles them and could drive physicians out of Quebec.
Legault has been under pressure from within his own caucus and from outside the province. Last week, one of his longtime ministers resigned over the bill. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also jumped into the fray, promising to roll out the red carpet for Quebec doctors seeking greener pastures.
On Tuesday, Legault said he will not back down on payment reform for doctors. “It’s adopted and we won’t revisit it,” he said. But he added that he’s open to discussing the “terms and conditions” of the bill with physicians.
In a gesture of goodwill, Health Minister Christian Dubé said the government will suspend two elements of the new law that make specific changes to how physicians are paid, which he said “have caused a great deal of concern” among doctors.
The new law links 10 per cent of physicians’ pay to performance benchmarks such as appointment and surgery numbers, with the intent of encouraging physicians to see more patients. Legault says it will benefit the 1.5 million Quebecers who don’t have a family doctor, but physicians say the payment reform will sacrifice quality of care in favour of volume.
One of Legault’s ministers, Lionel Carmant, announced last week he was quitting the caucus after expressing doubts about the bill. Carmant’s daughter, a physician, also published an open letter criticizing the law.
The dispute could also cost Legault another member of his caucus. The premier confirmed he would meet Tuesday afternoon with Isabelle Poulet, who had been scheduled to speak with the media earlier in the day about her political future, before cancelling the press conference at the last minute.
The new law on doctors’ remuneration was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” for Poulet, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
According to the legislation, physicians could face fines of up to $20,000 a day if they take “concerted actions” to boycott the bill, such as refusing to teach students. On Tuesday, the Quebec federation of medical students asked a Quebec Superior Court judge to suspend those provisions of the law, arguing they are unconstitutional. The province’s federation of medical specialists will also challenge the penalties set out in the law in court on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2025.
– By Maura Forrest in Montreal, with files from Thomas Laberge in Quebec City and Pierre Saint-Arnaud in Montreal
The Canadian Press
