I planned to post this earlier, but as a capitalist, it took me time to wrap my head around the details of Bill 2 in Quebec. Once I understood what was happening, the first name that came to mind was disgraced Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his strange vendetta against doctors. At the time, I didn’t get it. I’m an anglophone capitalist; Quebec’s francophone, socialist-leaning political culture often treats productive, high-skill professions as if they’re problems to be managed.
The Cultural Lens: Price Controls Disguised as “Justice”
When you translate Quebec’s politics into plain language, you realize many voters there are openly skeptical of capitalism. If they believe a profession earns “too much,” they feel entitled to cap it, control it, or squeeze it in the name of “equity.” That’s not how you treat skilled professionals—especially physicians who are in global demand.
As a Christian who believes capitalism is superior to socialism, I oppose universal health care for the very reason Bill 2 exists: it invites state micromanagement and rationing. In my view, Quebec is effectively bankrupt. Transfer payments from wealth-producing provinces keep the model going, so there’s been little immediate penalty for bad policy. But the bill comes due eventually.
Skilled Talent Doesn’t Respond to Bullying
You can’t bully high-IQ, in-demand professionals. Postal workers can strike and leverage a monopoly; doctors can leave. That’s the market reality. Look at Cuba: there’s a surplus of doctors—but chronic shortages of supplies and freedom. Havana exports doctors abroad under restrictive contracts and keeps a large share of their pay. That’s what happens when the state treats talent as a resource to be rationed rather than partners to be respected.
Quotas, “Targets,” and Malpractice Risk
Imagine being a physician under quotas and performance targets set by bureaucrats. Rush to meet a metric, miss something critical, and you’re exposed to malpractice. In a private system, doctors compete on service, quality, and price. If someone tried to gouge, competitors would undercut them. But when care is labeled “free,” overuse explodes and wait times soar. Markets discipline abuse; blanket entitlements encourage it.
The bigger problem: many public-sector pay scales are detached from market value. That distorts everything downstream, including tax burdens on a too-small private sector. Quebec’s answer is usually more control, not more competition.
What Bill 2 Actually Does
In the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 25, without meaningful debate, the Quebec government adopted Bill 2—a sweeping overhaul of physician compensation that critics call “Soviet-style” monitoring. It includes fines of up to $20,000 per day for “concerted action” protesting the changes.
Fallout so far:
- Over a thousand physicians protested in Quebec City, with more actions planned elsewhere.
- Three physicians with the provincial health authority resigned.
- The Social Services Minister resigned; her daughter, a maternal–fetal medicine specialist, wrote in Le Devoir that she is considering leaving for Ontario’s “deeply broken” alternative—because that’s how bad Quebec feels to practitioners right now.
- Ontario and New Brunswick report surges in applications from Quebec doctors.
All this in a province where over two million people lack access to a primary-care provider and ER wait times are the worst in Canada. Adding barriers will not fix access.
Key Provisions
- Imposed contract: Doctors have had no collective agreement since March 2023. Bill 2 imposes a new one.
- Pay tied to targets: 10% of physician pay is tied to provincial performance targets, with clawbacks if targets aren’t met.
- Examples: 75% of ER patients seen within 90 minutes; 97% of surgeries completed within 12 months of assessment.
- Capitation for family medicine: Family physicians would be paid a fixed sum per patient. Quebec is already short roughly 1,200 GPs.
Why Doctors Object
Physicians argue the law shifts responsibility for systemic failures—staffing shortages, resource bottlenecks, administrative burdens—onto the profession.
- The FMSQ (specialists) and FMOQ (family doctors) will challenge Bill 2 in court.
- The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) strongly opposes it, warning it will drive early retirements and interprovincial exits, further weakening an already strained system.
- Quebec remains the only province without independent arbitration—a proven tool elsewhere for resolving disputes and improving access.
Government’s Defense
The Legault government says Bill 2 will improve access, promising every Quebecer a health professional by summer 2026. The budget offers:
- $400 million over four years to expand OR availability.
- $200 million over four years for family medicine groups (GMFs).
- $120 million over four years to boost staffing in CRDS (referral centers), hiring ~300 people to reduce specialist waitlists.
Effective date: Jan. 1, 2026.
Why Central Planning Keeps Failing
This is the core flaw of universal systems: when the money, metrics, and mandates are political, politics—not patients—drive decisions. Targets sound tidy in a press release; in practice, they punish the frontline and push talent out. That’s how you get a downward spiral: fewer doctors → longer waits → more political control → even fewer doctors.
From a Christian perspective, coerced “care” isn’t charity—it’s compulsion. Christ calls us to freely help our neighbor, not to surrender every decision to the state.
The Exit Ramp Quebec Won’t Take
There is another path: competition, choice, and clear pricing. Let practices compete on quality and speed. Let private solutions flourish alongside public coverage for the vulnerable. Reward outcomes, not box-ticking. Most of all, respect the people who do the work.
Until then, expect more doctors to vote with their feet—and more patients to suffer the consequences.
Consider making Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior today. Only transformed hearts produce wise stewardship, liberty over control, and systems that truly serve people rather than power.