News/Canada/Montreal

Health Minister Christian Dubé tabled a bill on Thursday that would give the Quebec government the authority to regulate how health professionals are compensated, with the goal of getting them to take on more patients. Bill 106, officially titled An Act mainly to establish the collective responsibility and the accountability of physicians with respect to improvement of access to medical services, would have family doctors be compensated by capitation payment, that is to say, through a fixed payment based on the number of patients they take on and the care provided.Doctors would also receive an hourly rate for time spent with patients, such as for physician-patient interactions through family medicine groups (GMFs) and at clinics. At a news conference on Thursday, Dubé said the bill would l...

A nursing assistant who was the first home-care worker to see Normand Meunier after a disastrous hospital stay in Saint-Jérôme, Que., in January 2024 described the bedsore he returned home with as "horrible."Brigitte Guilbon, a licensed practical nurse who was part of Meunier's care team from 2022 until his death in March 2024, testified Tuesday at the coroner's inquiry looking into the 66-year-old's death.Guilbon testified she had never seen a wound like the one Meunier returned home with after being stuck on a stretcher for four days in the emergency room."His morale was very, very low, and the sore was horrible," Guilbon testified, wiping her eyes as her voice broke.As Guilbon described the gaping, blackened wound on Meunier's buttocks a few centimetres in diameter, coroner Dave Kimpton...

A public inquiry into the death of a quadriplegic man begins today in Quebec — over a year after he sought medical assistance in dying following a hospital stay that left him with a severe and painful bedsore. Normand Meunier, 66, was stuck on a stretcher in an emergency room at a hospital in Saint-Jérôme, Que., for four days in January of last year.During his stay, Meunier didn't have access to a special mattress and developed a major pressure sore on his buttocks. It eventually worsened to the point where bone and muscle were exposed and visible — making his recovery and prognosis bleak. He was told the sore — a gaping hole a few centimetres in diameter — would, at best, take several months to heal, according to the experts he consulted. The day before his death, Meunier spoke to Radio-C...

As a single mother on a fixed income, Kelly Tysick finds it harder than ever to make ends meet. Rents have jumped in her Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, making the rising cost of food nearly impossible to afford on her budget."I feel like it used to be affordable living, but now it's beyond belief," Tysick said during a recent visit to the Depot Community Food Centre, a local non-profit that aims to address food insecurity.The centre provides meals three days a week and offers food baskets and other services to those in need.Tasha Lackman, the organization's executive director, said demand tripled in the span of two years — forcing them to put a cap on new customers."We reached our capacity as an organization in terms of the food costs, the space that we have, the ...

Quebec has officially passed a law requiring doctors to work in the public health-care system for five years after obtaining a medical degree in the province.Bill 83, adopted on Thursday by a vote of 72 to 30, is intended to improve access to health care for Quebecers by preventing doctors from exiting the public system for the private system."The universal health-care system, financed by the people of Quebec, must enable everyone to consult a doctor when they need to," Health Minister Christian Dubé said in a statement.   "The private sector can help to support the public network: we will ensure that this contribution remains complementary, always in the interests of Quebec patients."WATCH | Quebec bill would fine new doctors for ditching public system: New doctors in Quebec could face fi...

Quebec's Health Ministry has declared an end to the measles outbreak in the province.A spokesperson said Tuesday the department determined the outbreak was over after no new cases were reported over the weekend.Marie-Christine Patry says an outbreak can be considered over if 32 days pass without a new reported infection.Quebec's outbreak began in December 2024 and involved a contagious traveller who had visited the province before they were diagnosed.Most of the province's cases — 32 out of 40 — were reported in the Laurentians region, north of Montreal.The federal government says there have been 880 measles cases reported in five provinces so far in 2025, with the vast majority — 804 — in Ontario.Patry says there hasn't been a new case of measles reported in Quebec since March 18. Sour...

Quebec's Health Ministry says it's on the verge of declaring its measles outbreak over, just as cases reach new heights in other parts of the country.The province says it has not recorded a new measles case since it hit 40 infections on March 18.If no additional cases are reported by Saturday — 32 days after the last contagious case — the ministry says it will signal the end of the outbreak.That's a stark contrast to Ontario, where measles cases have exceeded 800 since an outbreak began in the fall, and Alberta, which on Wednesday recorded 84 cases since March.Quebec's outbreak began in December 2024 with a traveller who was visiting the province while contagious with measles, before they were diagnosed.Most of the province's cases — 32 out of the 40 — were reported in the Laurentians, nor...

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is proposing restrictions for physicians who want to go from the public to the private health system, but an opposition MNA says the proposal lacks substance.Late last year, the CAQ tabled a bill to force physicians to practise in the public system for at least five years after graduating.Now, it's proposing amendments that would apply to all physicians — not just new ones. With the current rules, Health Minister Christian Dubé says it's too easy for physicians to go "back and forth" between the public and private system. A physician just needs to give the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), the province's health insurance board, a 30-day notice to go from the public to private sector.On Tuesday, Dubé proposed amendments to Bill 83, the pro...

Bianca Buitrago-Poulin is celebrating her successful massage studio's one-year anniversary on Montreal's South Shore this month.But it hasn't been easy.It's a business she started out of necessity — a last-ditch effort to save her family home, continue caring for her mother and stay financially viable while battling a debilitating condition that derailed her life and career.The 34-year-old was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia two years ago, but her illness had been affecting her long before that. After more than a decade of working in geriatric care, symptoms like fatigue, dizziness and muscle pain were making it hard to hold down a job.But she pushed on. Together with her boyfriend, they took out a loan to repair the historic home her grandfather bought decades ago on Gardenvil...

It cost $25 million to build, but barely a year after its opening and less than six months in operation, the family birth unit at Montreal's Notre-Dame Hospital is closed for good.The CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, which oversees the hospital, announced the closure a week ago, blaming a lack of specialized obstetrics staff.The loss is a "missed opportunity" and a blow for patients who would prefer to give birth outside of a traditional hospital setting, said Barbara Beccafico, a birth doula and board member with the Quebec Association of Doulas (AQD)."The community was very saddened," said Beccafico. "We felt like it was a beautiful project that was stillborn."The family birth unit emphasized physiological — or natural — medication-free births and collaborated with midwives, wh...