Quebec doctors who refuse to stay in public system for 5 years face $200K fine per day

Quebec's health minister has tabled a bill that would force new doctors trained in the province to spend the first five years of their careers working in Quebec's public health network.

Doctors who enter the private sector or move outside the province within that period would face fines up to $200,000 per day.

Health Minister Christian Dubé says his bill addresses the rising number doctors who are leaving the public system for the private one.

He says training a new doctor costs the government a total of between $435,000 and $790,000, including for residency, adding that doctors have a duty to care for the people who paid for their studies.

Health Minister Christian Dubé, left, talks with Premier François Legault at the Salon rouge on Nov. 5, 2024. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The province has said the number of doctors working exclusively in the private sector has increased by 70 per cent since 2020, and that the trend is especially notable among new doctors.

Members of the opposition parties in the legislature expressed support for the bill, which won't be studied before the next session begins in January.

A spokesperson for Dubé said last month that 400 of the 2,536 doctors who completed their studies between 2015 and 2017 have left Quebec for other jurisdictions.

There are currently 2,355 doctors trained in Quebec practising in Ontario, including 1,675 who attended McGill University.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.