Doctor negotiatingencouragement by Christian Dubé

In a bold move, Christian Dubé, Minister of Health, has labelled Bill 106 as a "small revolution" for doctors and a "big revolution" for patients. However, the bill has sparked significant controversy among Quebec healthcare professionals.

The heart of the controversy lies in the proposed link of up to 25% of doctors' remuneration to performance criteria, such as seeing a certain number of patients. This proposal has been strongly criticised by the medical community. The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) has spoken out against Bill 106 in an open letter, urging Quebec to abandon the bill.

The CAQ government has given itself the summer to negotiate Bill 106 with FMOQ and Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), but the Health Minister remains firm that the bill will be implemented. The minister has accused both the FMOQ and FMSQ of refusing to submit counter-proposals and has also been accused of delaying the deployment of the Digital Health Record by the vice-president of FMSQ.

The FMOQ claims they were "more than present" during the summer negotiations and made two proposals to the government. However, the minister has expressed a "total refusal" of doctors to discuss the remuneration method in Bill 106. The two federations of doctors denounce "one-way discussions" in negotiations.

The main objectives of the Minister of Health in Bill 106 are to affiliate each Quebecer to a family doctor or CLSC, increase evening and weekend appointments, and reduce waiting times for surgeries or specialties. The president of FMOQ is not "against performance indicators," but demands quality indicators rather than quantity.

Dr. Leclercq of FMSQ has stated that they are back to square one due to the imposition of Bill 106. He also criticised the minister's intention to create "fast-food" medicine, i.e. reducing consultation time. The vice-president of FMSQ also criticises putting the budget overrun on the backs of doctors.

Meanwhile, the minister has accused the FMSQ of delaying the catch-up plan in surgery after the pandemic, which Leclercq denies. The FMOQ is demanding arbitration if negotiations fail.

In a separate development, Dr. Marc-André Amyot, who previously represented the Mining Association of Ontario, made headlines on September 1, 2021, for his interview.

On the international front, Russia proposed a "new idea" to the Americans on Ukraine during a meeting between the Russian foreign minister and his American counterpart in Malaysia. This development, however, has not directly affected the ongoing debate surrounding Bill 106 in Quebec.