More than 260 Quebec doctors apply for Ontario licences following pay reform bill

o'er 250 quebec city doctors ar applying to be able-bodied to act in Ontario, according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. The surge of applications is happening in the wake of a controversial bill reforming doctors’ pay, which was passed on Oct. 25 in Quebec.

As of Monday morning, 263 Quebec doctors had applied to be licensed in Ontario since Oct. 23, according to the statement. Of those 263 applicants, 35 have been approved for certificates, the CPSO said.

“More than half of these applicants are family physicians, while the remainder practice across a broad range of specialties, including general practice, pediatrics, radiology, anesthesiology and others,” the statement said. 

Quebec’s Bill 2, which is set to take effect in the new year, links doctors' compensation to performance targets relating to the number of patients they care for. It also imposes fines of up to $500,000 per day on doctors who take "concerted action" to challenge the government's policies.

The CPSO said the doctors did not cite reasons for their application and said not all the applications will be granted a certificate, as some may be withdrawn or cancelled.

As of last summer, about 2.5 million Ontarians were without a family doctor. Premier Doug Ford recently encouraged Quebec doctors wanting to leave the province to call a hotline and said he would have them working “real quick.” 

Dr. Trevor Hennessey, chief of the department of anesthesiology at the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre in the Outaouais Region, resigned last week. He’s considering moving to Ontario, as he is already certified to practice in the province, but said he hasn’t decided.

After years of raising awareness about staff and resource shortages impeding health care, Bill 2 was the last straw, Hennessey said.

New law causes hundreds of Quebec doctors to apply for work in other provinces

Hennessey said doctors have no control over most elements needed to meet the bill’s patient targets, like emergency room stretchers, triage nurses and medical technicians. 

The resources to obtain those necessities are “fully under the control of the government,” Hennessey said.

He said the “potential gag order effects” of the law are pushing doctors to Ontario, despite similar difficulties with staffing and resources. Hennessey said there’s still confusion about what is considered “concerted action,” but it’s possible two doctors discussing changing their practice could be fined. 

“In Ontario, at least for now, we can still speak to our colleagues about the situations,” Hennessey said, calling the law “draconian.” 

He said he reached out to inquire about working at the Ottawa Hospital, but said they were already "inundated" with applications from Quebec.

The Ontario Medical Association said it stands with colleagues in Quebec and that governments should work with doctors to best serve patients.

Thousands pack Bell Centre to protest against Quebec law that changes how doctors are paid

Following Bill 2’s introduction, federations representing Quebec's general practitioners, specialists and medical students put forward legal challenges.

“But we’re not going to back down on what’s essential. We’re doing this for Quebecers,” the premier’s office said in the statement on Monday. 

The changes aim to improve patients’ access to family doctors, according to Legault’s office.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé, who initially tabled the bill, declined to comment on the decisions of the individual doctors, but a statement from his office says it shares doctors’ concern about how their practices and compensation will change.

“Quebec needs all of its doctors,” the statement reads.

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