Quebec family doctors halt teaching students amid contract talks

Family doctors in Quebec have stopped supervising medical students and residents as part of escalating pressure tactics in stalled contract negotiations with the Legault government.

The Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec (FMOQ) which represent nearly 10,000 family doctors in the province are escalating pressure on the Legault government during contract negotiations by ending mediation and suspending their classes for medical students.

The FMOQ says the government has shown no flexibility during discussions and is seeking to impose Bill 106 that aims to link remuneration of doctors to performance indicators.

“We’re fighting this for them and for their future patients,” said Dr. Michael Kalin, a Montreal family doctor. “This bill is toxic. If we don’t stand up now, they will have to live with it. So, this is a difficult medicine for them to take right now.”

“The problem with Bill 106 is it’s stalling negotiations,” said Ryan Kara, president of McGill University Medical Student Society. “So, our only ask is for negotiations to be going well for us to be back to school.”

The federation now wants the dispute to be submitted to independent arbitration.

“I think the main issue is the lack of negotiations and the idea that the minister of health is trying to impose Bill 106 on doctors,” said Dr. Kalin. “We are more than 400 family doctors short in Montreal and no legislation is going to fix that unless we acknowledge the underlying problem which is that there’s a lack of access because there’s a lack of doctors.”

For Quebec’s medical students, courses with medical specialists have been suspended since mid-Sept. as part of their contract negotiations. The suspension of courses taught by family doctors means that this could cause delays in students becoming doctors.

“We’re not even sure if we’re going to be able to graduate on time,” said Kara. “What that means is July 2026 no doctors and as of Oct. 20th, this is a real risk that will most likely happen.”

“They can’t guarantee that all of the graduating medical students will be able to graduate in July 2026,” said Nicolas Dostie, president of Association of Medical Students at Université de Montréal (AEEMUM). “So, we’re talking about around a thousand students in the province.”

On social media, the president of Quebec’s treasury board posted a joint statement with the province’s health minister saying that the government regrets the FMOQ’s decision. They added that they had put commitments on the table for Groupes de médecine de famille (GMFs) and are still ready to negotiate – saying that their goal remains that all Quebecers be cared for by a family doctor or a referral facility.

“These students are also worried for the future of their health system,” said Dostie. “They’re also worried for the future of the patients, the quality of care that they can give to the patients with Bill 106 that is mostly forcing quantity over quality. And so, they still want to support the doctors in what they’re doing and they still want the government to take away Bill 106.”