'The doctors we train at taxpayers’ expense must practise in Quebec'
Quebec Premier François Legault is prepared to make a legal maneuver to require doctors trained in Quebec universities to begin their careers in the province’s public system, according to a report.
Under this consideration, the government is looking to have medical graduates in Quebec reimburse the government for the cost of their education if they are not going to practise in the province for an unspecified period, reported The Canadian Press (CP).
“It’s too important,” Legault said, according to the report. “We’re short of doctors. The doctors we train at taxpayers’ expense must practise in Quebec.”
To do this, the provincial government would have to use the notwithstanding clause to override Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, said Legault.
“The notwithstanding clause is a provision in the Charter that allows federal, provincial and territorial governments to pass laws that override certain Charter rights for up to five years, a period that can be renewed by a vote in the legislature,” noted CP in the report posted on Global News.
Prior to the premier’s comments, Christian Dubé, Quebec’s minister of health, announced on Sunday that he will table legislation requiring family doctors and specialists to start their careers in Quebec’s public network.
Previously, Quebec amended the rules around a foreign national’s practice of profession in the province and the validity of their declaration of interest to settle in the province.
Many doctors trained in Quebec leave province
But one lawyer says that the Quebec government’s proposal is against the law.
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It would violate Canadians’ mobility rights – the right to move to any part of the country to take up residence or make a living – which are guaranteed in Section 6 of the Charter, not Section 15, said Frédéric Bérard, constitutional lawyer and Université de Montréal instructor, in the CP report.
The Constitution, however, says the notwithstanding clause cannot be used on Section 6; it can only be used on Section 2, which guarantees fundamental freedoms like conscience and religion, and on Sections 7 through 15, according to CP.
“If Legault is saying that he wants to invoke the notwithstanding clause, it means that he knows a fundamental right is violated,” said Bérard.
“(Legault) is instrumentalizing the rule of law for political gain.”
It costs the Quebec government between $435,000 and $790,000 to train a doctor, including during their residency, the government estimates. However, 400 of the 2,536 doctors who completed their studies between 2015 and 2017 left the province, according to the report.
Currently, 2,355 doctors trained in Quebec are practising in Ontario, including 1,675 who attended McGill University.
Previously, one expert criticized the growing role of incentives to attract doctors, which, they said, is putting a strain on some communities.