A Quebec health care reform bill that promises to save $220 million per year continues to be attacked from all sides before it was passed into law at 12:15 a.m. Saturday.

The Liberals continued to defend the legislation under an onslaught of criticism. "We want to go back to zero deficits," said Health Minister Gaetan Barrette.

The opposition Parti Quebecois were among the many who criticized the swift passage of the bill, which they said puts too much power into the hands of the provincial Health Ministry.

"Barrette is in a hurry to make it accepted but in fact he just wants the power that goes with that," said PQ Health Critic Diane Lamarre.

The Federation of Health Care Specialists held a press conference in Montreal Friday to express their concerns.

“Instead of sitting with us and discussing ways to change the system, I think the health minister has shown today that this may be the new trend of the Liberal Party: 'we have a majority we don’t need your opinion and if you don’t understand we’ll give you a gag order,” said Dr. Diane Francoeur.

Another colleague echoed her criticism.

"It means that no matter how much we want to help and contribute to the debate and improve the situation in which we work every day it’s going to end up in the government saying 'it’s going to be that other way,' and that's very unfortunate and worrisome,” said. Who said that the reform wasn’t on the electoral agenda in the last election," said Dr. Joseph Dahine, who added that the plan was not on the Liberal electoral agenda during the last election campaign.

Quebec Liberal MNAs were extolling the virtues of the legislation, expected to pass late Friday.

"It's a new way of giving our institutions fluidity so that the patient is more important than the bureaucracy," said Liberal government house leader Jean-Marc Fournier.

The Liberals have said that the grave concerns expressed by anglophones have not gone unnoticed and one English-speaking MNA expressed reassurance.

"Those institutions are important to all of Quebec and to the communities they serve and so yes you bet, I think this law will do it," said D'Arcy McGee MNA David Birnbaum.