Despite a gag order, Quebec’s medical specialists are speaking out. They say they will fight Quebec’s Bill 2, adding that it will end up hurting patients. Dr. Debbie Schwarcz says her rights are being violated, and by speaking out, she could face fines of up to $500,000 per day. That fine is the penalty for doctors who take “concerted action” to challenge government policies. “The reason why I feel that it’s important to speak up is because I want patients to understand what this bill means,” said the family and emergency physician. The governing CAQ invoked closure on Saturday and adopted Bill 2 (An Act mainly to establish collective responsibility with respect to improvement of access to medical services and to ensure continuity of provision of those services) shortly before 4 a.m.. A portion of doctors’ pay will now depend on how many patients they see. Schwarcz believes it will have a negative impact on care. “All of a sudden, your appointment is going to be really much shortened,” she said. “It leads to single-issue visits, which leads to more appointments needed to be taken.” Dr. Lior Bibas agrees, saying patients will suffer the most, especially when doctors are threatening to retire or leave the province. “We are not a system where we could lose five, 10 per cent of our doctors, and yet everyone’s talking about taking their career elsewhere,” said the cardiologist and intensivist. The MUHC patients’ committee says that after reading the special legislation, they don’t see how it works in patients’ favour. “We are a bit anxious to see what’s going to happen, really what’s in it for us,” said MUCH Users’ Committee chair Pierre Hurteau. Health Minister Christian Dubé was not available for an interview with CTV News on Monday, but he said on Tout le Monde en Parle on Sunday that he knows many people are not happy, but that there was an urgent need to act as patients wait for surgery or doctors’ appointments. More than a million Quebecers still don’t have access to a family doctor, and a crowd of doctors gathered on Sunday night to protest the bill. Many echoed Schwartz’s words, saying Bill 2 does nothing to help patients.
