Dear Editor,

There is currently a lot of concern about the future of healthcare in the MRC Pontiac with the talk of the CAQ government introducing Bill 106. The purpose of this bill is to standardize access to family doctors so that there are no “orphans” and all residents can see a doctor or nurse practitioner for primary care. After that they can be referred to secondary care or a hospital specialist. This also includes taking the CLSCs, small clinics and family medical groups and calling them affiliation sites. They hope to adopt this bill to be effective Apr. 1, 2026. With this bill will come a new form of doctor remuneration which is based on a quota system. It will be based on the number of patients that they care for. Quebec is one of the top three provinces currently with the highest number of doctors versus citizens.

There is one large issue that needs to be addressed. The role of a family doctor in a city is very different from rural. In the city the physician sees patients at a clinic. In the rural, like MRC Pontiac, their responsibilities include the emergency room, hospital visits, long-term care as well as their regular patients. The great concern is that they will be penalized as they cannot be expected to see as many patients in a day based on the quota system. With our proximity to Ontario there could be an exodus of our doctors as there is no quota system there. We need to make this crystal clear to the CAQ government and demand an exception or different set of rules for rural practices. I will be attending the Santé Outaouais Forum in Gatineau on Thursday and will speak out about this on behalf of our doctors and nurse practitioners. I will be working with and supporting MNA André Fortin in his work as well.

Jane Toller, Warden MRC Pontiac