Legault getting sensitive doctor data through emergency powers is 'authoritarian,' Liberals say
Premier François Legault misused the decree power available to him in Quebec's state of health emergency when he used it to obtain information on family doctors, according to Liberal leader Dominique Anglade.
Anglade decried what she called an abuse of power on Thursday after Health Minister Christian Dubé admitted his government had obtained sensitive data on doctors, thanks in part to the state of emergency.
"We are facing an abuse of power," she said. "This is a blatant example of what should not be done in our democracy, and it should justify lifting this health emergency."
Legault said this week that he wanted to share with regional health authorities the names of doctors who are not working enough to satisfy him.
He hinted that he would also bypass the family physicians' union, the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), and raised the threat of penalties for a "minority" of doctors.
In a press scrum, Anglade criticized the premier for his "authoritarian" and "bulldozing" approach to the issue of negotiations with family doctors, which has nothing to do with COVID-19.
"The emergency decree allows extraordinary powers in an extraordinary situation. Here the premier, François Legault, decided to use the decree to obtain information," she said.
"He shouldn't be using that information the way he does, and that's why I'm saying it's an abuse of power," she said.
The Parti Québécois (PQ) said, for its part, that it is thinking of appealing to the Ethics Commissioner to get that office to shed light on the way in which the information on the doctors was obtained.
"There can be a drift if we use the law on health measures to circumvent the regular laws in a negotiation process," warned the PQ's parliamentary leader, Joël Arseneau.
Quebec Solidaire spokesperson Manon Massé reiterated her demand for the Legault government to adopt a transitional law to help it get out of the state of health emergency.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 28, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.