‘There’s going to be deaths’: Montreal family doctor clinic with vulnerable clients closing due to Bill 2

A family doctor clinic in Montreal’s Quartier Latin neighbourhood has announced it will be closing because of financial constraints due to the Quebec government’s new Bill 2.

The legislation imposes a new compensation model for doctors that links remuneration to performance.

Clinique L’Agora is now planning to close April 1, 2026, after Bill 2 comes into effect in the new year.

“This will cause the financial constraint on the clinic,” said Dr. Antoine Cloutier-Blais, a family doctor and co-owner, Clinique L’Agora. “That will only worsen by April 1, where all the other modalities of the law will come into effect.

“This we expect will cause a reduction in remuneration of 40 to 50 percent, which is completely not compatible from an accounting perspective with keeping this clinic afloat.”

The clinic serves many vulnerable members of the community including those in the Village nearby and people who are struggling with certain addiction issues.

“We are currently following 6,000 patients,” Cloutier-Blais said. “About a thousand of them have a history of either substance use disorder, homelessness or severe mental health conditions, and these patients will have nowhere else to go.”

Gary Phillips, who is a client at the clinic, fears that if it closes, there could be serious impacts on the health of many who rely on the clinic.

“There’s going to be deaths,” Phillips said. “There’s going to be people that are not going to survive.

“This clinic is serving pretty much the Montreal Village, which is high-density populated by the lesbian and gay population, trans population that definitely require special care.

“People are not going to have immediate access or close access to help. If you look at the park just down at the corner, it’s full of people that have nowhere to go. If there could be street services going around picking up people and stuff, where’s the quickest place for them to bring them? Generally, it’s going to be here.”

On Tuesday, La Presse reported that about 20 Family Medicine Groups, also known as GMFs, say that with Bill 2 their clinics will no longer be financially viable and that 3,000 doctors have recently signed letters to the CEOs of six regional health authorities in Quebec demanding the suspension of Bill 2.

“We have made the work of accounting analysis, and it doesn’t make sense,” Cloutier-Blais said. “The only way forward is by backtracking the law and having an arbitration process.”

In a written response to CityNews, the Ministry of Health and Social Services says they are committed to increasing funding to the Family Medicine Group program with an additional $50 million on April 1, 2026, and another $50 million in 2027.

The ministry adds this will represent a total recurring addition of $100 million per year starting on April 1, 2027.

“As a reminder, the ‘Funding and Support Program for Family Medicine Groups’ provides funding for start-up, development work, practice support, funding related to pharmacist services, as well as expenses related to the operation of the clinic,” the statement reads.

“Currently, in addition to this funding for the Family Medicine Group (GMF) program, physicians practicing in private practice also receive a 30 per cent office expense allowance to support their administration.

“Bill 2 stipulates that this allowance will henceforth be paid directly to the GMFs to streamline administration and ensure they receive all the necessary resources to operate effectively. The government has publicly indicated its openness to suspending the application of this measure, pending discussions with medical federations.

“No funding has been cut. The objective is not to reduce a clinic’s financial resources, nor to lower physicians’ compensation.”