10 days after gag order adoption of Bill 2, Santé Québec remains silent

The rise of technologies such as ChatGPT has thrust artificial intelligence into the spotlight throughout 2023 — and health care is no exception. An electrophysiologist performs a ventricular tachycardia ablation at Sacre-Coeur Hospital, Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Santé Québec has still not commented on the special bill changing doctors’ remuneration, 10 days after its adoption under closure in the National Assembly.

“We are still analyzing it,” said spokesperson Catherine Brousseau on Monday. “We want to take the time to fully understand its scope and listen in the field as well. We are therefore reserving our comments on this bill for the time being.”

Bill 2, which changes doctors’ remuneration, imposes performance targets on them and threatens them with sanctions, has been causing quite a stir for the past 10 days.

• READ MORE: What’s in Quebec’s controversial doctors’ bill?

It is already the subject of a legal appeal, in addition to having contributed to the shock resignation of Minister Lionel Carmant and inspired a large demonstration in front of the parliament on Saturday.

In addition, at least 125 doctors have reportedly completed the process to obtain the right to practise in Ontario, and another 200 have taken steps to do so.

On Friday, the College of Physicians (CMQ) went public to ask the Legault government to suspend the application of Bill 2 and to withdraw the performance targets and sanctions.

It reiterated that its mission was to protect the public.

“For patients and doctors, the government must press pause,” it said.

According to the college’s preliminary analysis, if the law “is implemented as is, it will result in damage to the health-care system and reduced accessibility.”

On the same day, on LinkedIn, Santé Québec CEO Geneviève Biron simply said that her teams were “mobilized” to “analyze the provisions of the bill.”

“More than ever, we must remain united, move forward calmly and kindly, and support our teams,” she added, without commenting on the content of the bill.

In 10 days, Biron has not come to the defence of the Legault government either.

Santé Québec was created by the government in 2023. Its mission is to coordinate the network’s operations, while the Ministry of Health remains responsible for overall policy.

This report by Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 4, 2025.