The group representing Quebec medical specialists has ended mediation with the government and is asking Premier François Legault to intervene after negotiations reached a deadlock.
In a letter obtained by Radio-Canada and reviewed by CBC News, the president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), Dr. Vincent Oliva, called on Legault to instruct his teams to carry forward the negotiations successfully and support the effort of his government’s mediator.
“You don’t motivate partners by constantly attacking them and deceiving them at the bargaining table. Your health minister is on the wrong track and is leading us all into a dead end,” wrote Oliva.
“He has lost our trust.”
Family doctors and medical specialists have been negotiating with Quebec and Bill 106 has been at the heart of tensions. The bill, among other things, would link the pay of physicians to performance indicators in an effort to get them to take on more patients.
The FMSQ is hoping to renew the framework agreement it has with the government and is opposed to the proposed remuneration method.
Last month, members stopped teaching undergraduate students and supervising their clinical placements in protest of the bill.
Last week, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), the group representing family doctors, also put its teaching activities on hold in protest of Bill 106.
In his letter to Legault, Oliva said medical specialists are prepared to work harder if they have the resources to do so, but to achieve this, the specialists must participate in developing “solutions that take into account the medical needs of the population, through collaboration.”
“We are convinced that a law is not the right vehicle to achieve this,” he stated.
In his letter dated Oct. 18, Oliva called Bill 106 “punitive” and “incoherent.”
He wrote that three rounds of negotiations have been held since last summer and recently, a mediator joined the discussions.
“Each of these attempts has failed due to your minister’s stubbornness and his desire to punish physicians for the problems in the health-care system,” he wrote.
In a written response to Oliva — also obtained by Radio-Canada and reviewed by CBC — Legault reaffirmed his support for the new remuneration system, stating that it is “essential to ensure access [to health care] throughout the province.”
“Over the past few weeks, we have shared with you a series of parameters that demonstrate our openness to reaching an agreement. However, our goal of providing access to all Quebecers remains firm,” wrote Legault, in a letter sent on Sunday.
Legault said his representatives were available to continue discussions at the bargaining table “with the parameters already expressed” and invited the FMSQ to resume negotiations.
On Monday morning, Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau published a joint statement with Health Minister Christian Dubé on X, echoing Legault’s remarks that the government is inviting the groups to come back to the bargaining table.
“We have taken note of the end of mediation with the FMSQ,” Duranceau and Dubé wrote.
“The goal remains to ensure better access to care for Quebecers, in particular through affiliation with a health-care facility.”