In the wake of Bill 2 and the outrage it has sparked among doctors, the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) filed a request for a temporary stay on Wednesday, which will be heard on an urgent basis next week by the Superior Court of Quebec. With its request for a stay, the FMSQ is not challenging the law as a whole, but only those aspects that are most restrictive in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms. In particular, the federation wants to challenge the provisions in the law on the attendance monitoring system and the prohibition of concerted actions that would negatively affect access to services or hinder the training process. During a technical briefing held Thursday in Montreal, Guillaume Charlebois, a lawyer representing the FMSQ, stated that as the law is written, a couple of doctors who decide to move to another province and practice medicine there are liable to a fine of $20,000 per doctor per day of violation. “Ultimately, this is a ban on doctors resigning, ceasing to teach, retiring, or deciding to practice their profession outside Quebec,” said Marie-Josée Crête, the FMSQ’s director of legal affairs and negotiations. “This is clearly unconstitutional. It is a flagrant violation of fundamental rights and freedoms. That is why we are currently challenging it in court. Not only are we challenging it so that it will eventually be invalidated, but we are also asking that these provisions be suspended immediately in the meantime,” Charlebois said. Bill 2 leads to ‘a code of silence’ In the week since Bill 2 was passed under gag order, 70 Quebec doctors have registered to work in Ontario and 30 in New Brunswick. At a press conference in Sherbrooke, FMSQ President Dr. Vincent Oliva said he was “extremely concerned” about the exodus of doctors. “I once again call on the premier to act responsibly and quickly to stop this disaster that is unfolding before our eyes,” said Dr. Oliva. “The scope of the prohibitions in Bill 2 is such that it creates a code of silence and discourages doctors from discussing the fundamental life choices mentioned above, for fear that these discussions will be considered ‘consultation,’” reads the request for a temporary stay. “It also discourages the FMSQ or any other participant in civil society from organizing or encouraging demonstrations in which doctors would participate in protest, in the exercise of their freedoms of thought, belief, opinion, conscience, and expression, against Bill 2,” the court document also states. Charlebois has indicated that all aspects of Bill 2 that affect negotiations and “completely eliminate pressure tactics and set aside negotiated terms” will be challenged. A request to suspend the application of the law will be filed in the coming weeks with a view to suspending it by Jan. 1, 2026, when several provisions come into force. The judgment on the stay should be handed down “shortly after” it is filed, Charlebois said. “Then the challenge will continue, eventually leading to a trial. But the goal is to not have to wait for the trial to stop the application of these prohibitions in the law,” he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 30, 2025. By Katrine Desautels, The Canadian Press The Canadian Press’s health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. The Canadian Press is solely responsible for this journalistic content.
