Quebec bill to expand responsibilities a rare opportunity to improve health care, says FIQ

A health care worker writes on a notepad.

Consultations on a Quebec bill to facilitate access to health care by further expanding the scope of certain professional practices are set to resume on Tuesday.

The bill concerns nurses, pharmacists, midwives, optometrists, dietitians, nutritionists and marriage therapists.

It is part of an expansion of health care practices that began in 2023 to lean into the skills of the professionals and improve access to care and services.

For nurses, this could allow them to “initiate examinations and tests in situations, to be determined by ordinance,” rather than only in the context of the application of the Public Health Act.

It would also allow them to prescribe, under conditions determined by the regulations, exams and tests, medications and other items, like dressings.

The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), which represents the majority of nurses, says it is “a rare opportunity to transform the organization of care in a sustainable way.”

“Allowing these professionals to fully deploy their skills, take on new responsibilities when appropriate, and officially evolve their practice, is essential to improving the efficiency of the network, reducing delays and strengthening the front line,” said FIQ President Julie Bouchard.

All the same, the union leader cautions that “several planned advances still depend on future regulations. If we are not more ambitious and consistent now, this could seriously limit the scope of the bill.”

Last Thursday, the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec, Quebec’s Order of Nurses, also welcomed the bill, which would allow for the “optimal use” of nurses’ skills to reduce delays, particularly on the front lines, said President Luc Mathieu.

The bill also provides for certain adjustments to the standards governing the relationship between pharmacists, drug manufacturers, drug wholesalers and pharmacy banners and chains.

The Ordre des pharmaciens, Quebec’s Order of Pharmacists, also received the bill “very favourably.”

From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2025, pharmacists made more than 860,000 medication adjustments, extended more than 1.3 million prescriptions and administered more than 1.7 million vaccines, noted President Jean-François Desgagné.

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet emphasized that the bill aims to “make the professional system more agile, adapting to new realities and practices to meet the growing needs of the population.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 10, 2026