Quebec medical students ask court to suspend Bill 2

Several hundred protesters gathered in front of the National Assembly to denounce Bill 2, which changes the way doctors are paid, imposes performance targets on them and threatens them with sanctions. Nov. 1, 2025. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé’s Bill 2 is facing its first real test in court on Tuesday.

The Quebec Medical Students’ Federation (FMEQ), which brings together medical student associations from the universities of Montreal, McGill, Laval and Sherbrooke, is asking the province’s Superior Court to suspend the law.

The federation says it objects to the Bill 2 provisions that prevent concerted actions that hinder education, like suspending classes, and the heavy penalties that go with them.

Although these provisions target physicians themselves, the FMEQ says it believes the law is written in a way that could also target concerted actions by student associations.

Four associations that have adopted strike mandates have lamented that they fear going through with them, given the penalties provided for in the law.

The federation argues that the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on freedom of association and freedom of expression.

The FMEQ says it also considers that the fines provided for in the law, ranging from $200 to $1,000 per day of violation for individuals and from $100,000 to $500,000 per day for groups, to be cruel and unusual.

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