Family physicians reach agreement in principle with Quebec over Bill 2

quebec city fellowship doctors feature struck a tentative accord with the responsibility, only weeks before the implementation of controversial reforms that threatened clinic closures and the departure of GPs to other provinces.

The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) announced the tentative deal Thursday morning. The two sides have been at odds for months over Bill 2, legislation that ties doctors' pay to collective performance targets.

Hundreds of doctors have applied for a licence in Ontario in recent months, while many family medicine clinics across Quebec have said they would be forced to shut down next year.

In a statement, the FMOQ thanked Premier François Legault for stepping in to spark a negotiating blitz, in order "to halt the disengagement and departure of Quebec family doctors, and to increase Quebecers' access to family medicine. "

The FMOQ said it would present the deal to its members starting Friday and hold a vote in the days that follow.

"We are aware that the morale of family doctors — like that of many of their patients — has been severely tested," the federation said.

"The commitment and motivation of family doctors remain essential for the future of the front line and for the health of the Quebec population, and the FMOQ believes that this agreement in principle constitutes a concrete step in this direction."

France-Élaine Duranceau, Quebec's Treasury Board president, wouldn't go into details about what the agreement entailed. But she reiterated that Bill 2 was intended to change the remuneration mode of the doctors and to increase the number of Quebecers that have access to a GP.

"I won't comment any further on the agreement because we want to let the FMOQ share the details with its members," she said.

Bill 2 was set to go into effect on Jan. 1, but Health Minister Christian Dubé said that would be pushed back to the end of February to give doctors time to assess the agreement.

"If there is a winner in all this, it's Quebecers," said Dubé.

Duranceau said negotiations are ongoing with the province's specialists, represented by the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ).

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Journalist

Benjamin Shingler is a reporter based in Montreal covering social issues and Quebec politics. He previously worked at The Canadian Press and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and is an alumnus of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. He can be reached at benjamin.shingler@cbc.ca.

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