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Negotiations between the Quebec government and family doctors have collapsed again, just weeks before controversial reforms take effect that doctors warn will force them to close their clinics — or leave the province altogether.
The Legault government and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) resumed talks in the weeks following the October adoption of Bill 2, the special legislation drafted by Health Minister Christian Dubé.
But it was revealed Thursday those talks have broken down.
“Nothing is working. The government won’t budge on its law,” said Stéphane Gosselin, a spokesperson for the FMOQ.
France-Élaine Duranceau, Quebec’s Treasury Board president, said she was “very disappointed” that the FMOQ had left the negotiating table. Duranceau said the provincial government remained open to making changes.
“We’re still at the table on our end,” Duranceau told reporters in Quebec City. “We’ll be ready when they are to continue the negotiation.”
The adoption of Bill 2 has sparked outcry among doctors due to the reforms themselves, and because the government used closure to force the bill through in the middle of a legislative session — a move considered highly unusual.
Family medicine clinics across the province have warned they will close if changes aren’t made to the legislation, while hundreds of doctors have applied for a licence to practice in Ontario.
One of the key points of dispute is a change in how physicians are paid.
Under Bill 2, a portion of their compensation would be tied to collective performance targets — a system family doctors say will force them to take on an unmanageable number of patients.
The changes are set to go into effect Jan. 1.
The doctors also oppose provisions allowing for sanctions if those targets aren’t met, despite the government’s promise not to enforce penalties in the short term.
The province’s medical specialists, represented by the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), would also be affected by the law.
For their part, they have refused to return to the negotiating table since the bill passed, despite efforts by the provincial government to bring them back into the fold.
The FMSQ has chosen to focus on its lawsuit challenging Bill 2. It is not the only legal action currently underway; the FMOQ and the province’s medical student federation (FMEQ) have also asked the courts to intervene in the dispute.
WATCH | Patients at Hudson clinic worry about looming closure:
Patients lament ‘absolutely devastating’ closing of Hudson, Que., clinic amid new doctor pay law
The closure of the family medicine clinic west of Montreal could affect nearly 12,000 patients. GMF Hudson says three of its seven physicians will no longer practise in the province, citing the new legislation.