MONTREAL — More than 10,000 doctors, residents, and medical students filled Montreal’s Bell Centre on Sunday in a massive show of defiance against Quebec’s new physician payment law, calling on Premier François Legault’s government to suspend what they describe as an “unfair and dangerous” reform.
The protest, organized by Quebec’s four major medical federations, follows a similar rally in Quebec City last weekend. The demonstrators’ anger is directed at Bill 2, a sweeping new law that ties doctors’ pay to performance targets and threatens steep fines for any coordinated resistance.
“This is a united message from every corner of the medical community,” declared Dr. Marc-André Amyot, president of the Federation of General Practitioners of Quebec. “Imposing these measures as they stand will lead to disasters and abuses — and they’ve already begun. More than 550 doctors have announced they’re leaving Quebec.”
Passed on October 25, the legislation links 10 per cent of doctors’ remuneration to performance benchmarks such as appointment numbers and surgical volumes, a move the government claims will help clear patient backlogs and improve access for the 1.5 million Quebecers still without a family doctor. Critics, however, argue it’s a bureaucratic overreach that punishes physicians and erodes professional autonomy.
The protest drew thousands from across the province, with 17 buses arriving from cities including Rimouski and Trois-Rivières. Inside the arena, the event opened with a musical performance by The Doc Show—a band of physicians playing electric guitars and saxophones—before giving way to speeches by leaders representing family doctors, specialists, residents, and medical students. Videos featuring doctors describing the bill as “cruel,” “shocking,” and “deplorable” played between performances.
“This law won’t help our patients, and it certainly won’t help our health system,” said Dr. Juliet Kemp, an emergency physician from the Laurentians, echoing the sentiment of many in attendance.
The growing backlash has also shaken the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government. Health Minister Christian Dubé has already suspended two provisions of the bill, while two party legislators—Lionel Carmant and Isabelle Poulet—broke ranks over its implementation.
Under the new law, doctors could face fines of up to $20,000 per day for organized acts of protest such as refusing to teach students, a measure medical groups have vowed to challenge in court, calling it unconstitutional.
In response to the uproar, Premier François Legault said last week that he was open to “restarting talks” with doctors about how to apply the new rules.
For many physicians, however, trust in the government’s approach has already been deeply shaken. As one banner inside the Bell Centre read, the message was loud and clear: “Heal the system, not the doctors.”