Outaouais doctors leaving Quebec over new health care bill

Quebec’s new law changing the way physicians are paid is sparking protests and leading to resignations in the Outaouais. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

There’s growing concern in the Outaouais region, where three physicians have resigned following the Quebec government’s new Bill 2, legislation that changes how doctors are paid and limits how they can speak out.

The law is designed to improve access to health care across the province, but some physicians say it’s having the opposite effect by forcing them to choose between their patients and their principles.

Dr. Trevor Hennessey, Chief of the Department of Anesthesiology for the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO), has spent more than a decade caring for patients in Hull. Now he’s packing up his office.

“For me, it’s not a protest. This is just the last straw,” said Hennessey.

“It’s just trying to pass the blame for the failings onto the doctors who can’t actually meet any of the requirements in this bill without the resources that are the responsibility of the government.”

Under Bill 2, doctors’ salaries are tied to performance targets, including the number of patients they see and average wait time.

Physicians say those expectations are unrealistic, given the current staffing shortages.

“Our rooms are often at 150 to 200 per cent capacity,” Hennessey says. “If there’s no stretcher, no triage nurse, no lab tech to do the tests… how can the doctor or the nurse do their job in less than 90 minutes?”

The new law also introduces steep penalties. Fines of up to $20,000 a day for doctors who reduce their workload or leave the province.

The Quebec government maintains the law is about accountability and improving access to care, but Hennessey calls is “demoralizing.”

“My last attempt is to try and get some change for the Outaouais, finance us to the Quebec average, give us what we need to take care of the population,” he said.

For Dana Stefov, a former patient of Hennessey’s, his decision to resign is heartbreaking.

“The fact that he’s come to the point where he feels broken and burnt out and is resigning as a consequence of the law really bothers me,” she said. “The inequities between the systems, both within Quebec and between provinces are unacceptable.”

Since the bill was passed, more than a hundred doctors have reportedly applied for medical licenses in Ontario and New Brunswick.

Hennessey warns the legislation could also have ripple effect beyond Quebec, potentially sending more patients across the river to Ottawa for care if more physicians decide to leave.

Hennessey says his final day will be Dec. 31, one day before the law takes effect.

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