Legault government tables bill to amend key provisions of law changing doctors’ pay

The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) government introduced another bill on Wednesday to amend its own Bill 2.

Bill 2, which changed the way doctors are paid, imposed performance targets on them and threatened them with sanctions, was passed on Oct. 25 under closure.

It sparked an outcry among doctors and patients, and led to the resignation of three CAQ members, including two heavyweights in the government: Lionel Carmant and Christian Dubé.

The latter slammed the door on the CAQ in December after Premier François Legault bowed to pressure from family doctors and dropped entire sections of Bill 2.

A first bill, repealing 78 sections and postponing the effective date of Bill 2 to Feb. 28, was then passed.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Sonia Bélanger went further by introducing Bill 19, which makes several other concessions to reflect the agreement reached with general practitioners.

“We were told we were too tough. Now we’re being told we’re too soft. I think we’re in the middle, and we’re in the right place, and it’s going to make a difference for Quebecers,” she said at a news conference.

Her Bill 19 confirms that the most restrictive elements of Bill 2 are being dropped.

Instead, the voluntary registration of 500,000 new patients (including 180,000 vulnerable patients) by June 2026 will be accompanied by a $75 million incentive. The government is even increasing the remuneration envelope for family doctors by 14.5 per cent ($435 million).

“We could have taken a coercive approach. We saw what that led to: no one was on board. So we chose to do things collaboratively,” said Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau at a news conference.

The legislation presented on Wednesday reiterates the concept of capitation remuneration for family doctors working on the front lines. However, many doctors will be able to choose not to participate.

Capitation is the opposite of fee-for-service remuneration. Rather than being paid for each service rendered, doctors receive a fixed annual amount for each patient on their list.

In particular, it promotes interprofessional collaboration, according to the bill. However, doctors who are just starting out or approaching retirement will be able to claim an “exclusion”, explained Bélanger.

Several terms, including these “exclusions,” remain to be negotiated with the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ).

At the same time, the government is still in negotiations with the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ). The outcome of these negotiations will have to be included in the bill in one way or another, said the Minister of Health.

A third bill may therefore be necessary to amend Bill 2 once again.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 4, 2026.