CAQ government will table special bill if agreement with doctors not reached by Friday

Premier François Legault announced that his government will table a special legislation Friday, if a breakthrough is not achieved in the salary negotiations with doctors’ unions by then.

On Wednesday evening, he said that the legislation will move forward with changing doctors’ compensation linking 15 per cent of their income to performance and also make it illegal for them stop teaching students.

“If we cannot reach an agreement, on Friday morning we will table a bill to change their compensation system and put an end to their pressure tactics,” Legault said.

In a video posted on social media, Legault argued that the government’s demands of asking doctors to be available in the evenings and on weekends were “reasonable” and done for the sake of Quebecers.

“Other provinces have already done this for a long time. Why shouldn’t it be possible to do so in Quebec?”

He called the doctors’ union of wanting to maintain the status quo and gave them an ultimatum.

“We can’t continue like this,” Legault said. “Quebecers pay a lot. They have a right to get their money’s worth.”

The announcement Wednesday evening came just hours after the federation representing medical specialists – the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) – rejected government’s fourth offer, calling it a “declaration of war” and a setback in the mediation process.

The official opposition critic for health, Marc Tanguay of the Quebec Liberal Party, criticized both the unions and the government, in a press release Wednesday evening.

“The conflict between doctors and the CAQ government has gone on long enough,” Tanguay said. “Given the state of our healthcare system, we can no longer afford to waste time and energy on battles that lead nowhere.”

Tanguay called on the Legault government to suspend Bill 106 and on the doctors to “end all pressure tactics that will ultimately harm patients”. Instead, he said, he wants the government to draft a new bill in collaboration with the doctors and health care professionals.

“The unions are delaying the arrival of new doctors with their pressure tactics in teaching. We cannot accept this,” said Legault.

The changes to the compensation model has been one of the sticking points in the negotiations between the government and the doctors’ unions since Health Minister Christian Dubé proposed them as part of Bill 106 in May.

Earlier in the day, Legault defended his decision to seek for a third term in next year’s elections, despite a new poll by SOM-La Presse showed that three-quarters of voters don’t want him to continue as premier after the 2026 elections.