(Quebec) Dissatisfied with the Dubé reform, medical specialists are spending $1,000 out of their own pockets to fill a pot of 10 million which can be used to challenge it. Unusually, they give their support to healthcare professionals who are preparing for the strike.
Gathered in assembly, the delegates of the Federation of Specialist Physicians of Quebec (FMSQ) approved Thursday the payment of a special membership contribution of $1,000 each for the year 2024. With some 10,000 members, the prize pool will reach at least 10 millions. The objective? Prepare to be heard if Christian Dubé’s reform goes forward.
The resolution, that The Press has obtained, takes into account “the importance of promoting, in the interest of patients, specialized medicine within the framework of the planned adoption” of Bill 15 which aims to make the health and social services. The FMSQ also notes “the difficulties in predicting” the renegotiation of their Framework Agreement, which expired on 1er April 2023.
This is the contract between the FMSQ and the Ministry of Health and Social Services to regulate the conditions of practice and the remuneration of specialists.
The FMSQ therefore anticipates “the possibility that special costs must be incurred to support [ses] priorities” if Minister Dubé does not modify his reform, which could include legal action. The last time that members of the doctors’ union chose to pay a similar special contribution dates back to 2017, in the midst of a standoff against former Minister of Health Gaétan Barrette.
Expertise dismissed
This time, the FMSQ and Minister Christian Dubé do not agree on several elements of this vast reform. Specialists fear that medical expertise will be “dismissed” from decision-making powers. Mr. Dubé also wants to subject specialists to specific medical activities, like family doctors. This could mean extra guards or unfavorable shifts.
The FMSQ does not say it is against it in substance, but wants a negotiated agreement with Quebec rather than it being enshrined in law1.
“In recent months, the FMSQ has increased its efforts to contribute to improving the [projet de loi] 15 and the health network. However, the majority of the proposals made by the Federation were ignored,” deplores the Dr Vincent Oliva, president of the FMSQ, in a statement sent to The PressFriday.
“This is why an extraordinary contribution was voted unanimously by the delegates of the [FMSQ] to provide it with the necessary means to make itself heard,” he confirmed.
Support for professionals
Furthermore, the FMSQ adopted a resolution to support healthcare professionals in their negotiations with the government. Members of the Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation – the largest nurses’ union – voted 95% this week in favor of the strike.
Walkout days are planned for November 8 and 9, which will have effects on the activities of specialists. According to our information, the resolution came “from the floor”, that is to say that it was the delegates who raised the issue. The resolution grants the FMSQ “the mandate to demonstrate its solidarity with health professionals who recently adopted a strike mandate.”
Although they have “discarded any type of pressure tactics”, the specialists “want to express their dissatisfaction with the lack of resources available to treat patients and the deterioration of the practice conditions of all healthcare professionals. health,” we emphasize.
This is the first time that the doctors’ union has supported by resolution the health network employee unions in their negotiations with Quebec.