After specialists, family doctors agree to mediation with Quebec
Posted October 1, 2025 7:24 pm.
Quebec’s Federation of family doctors (FMOQ) has finally agreed to sit down with Quebec City a few hours after Health Minister Christian Dubé pledged not to consider Bill 106 during the mediation process.
“The FMOQ will begin its first mediation meeting with the government this evening. This process will provide an opportunity to discuss the current pressure tactics and those still planned by family doctors,” the federation said in a written statement sent to The Canadian Press late Wednesday afternoon.
It should be noted that the government is in a major standoff with doctors over Bill 106, which aims to link part of their remuneration to collective performance indicators.
On Monday, the FMOQ reiterated its demand that Bill 106 be withdrawn.
Last week, Dubé and Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau reached out to the two doctors’ federations to ask them to agree to a mediation process.
The Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists (FMSQ) agreed to mediation on Tuesday. However, it is continuing its boycott of teaching.
“It is essential that mediation move forward, including on pressure tactics,” Minister Dubé said at a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“We are asking the government to take clear action.”
The Quebec Student Medical Federation (FMEQ) is concerned about the impact of the boycott on the training of future doctors. But rather than asking doctors to end it, the federation is putting pressure on the government.
“To quickly end the teaching strike, we are considering two solutions: the withdrawal of Bill 106 and recourse to mediation or even arbitration. (…) We are asking the government to take clear action and choose dialogue over confrontation,” explained FMEQ Vice-President Félicia Harvey.
The FMEQ is opposed to the “collective responsibility” objectives of the bill.
“If we already have clinical settings that are saturated, such as GMFs, for example, which are already having difficulty offering appointments, and we try to add thousands of new Quebecers to the same GMF, without additional resources, it will be difficult to do the work at that point,” explained FMEQ president Maxence Pelletier-Lebrun.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
