Christian Dubé steps down as Quebec health minister, leaves CAQ

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé is stepping down.

In a Facebook post, Dubé cited difficult negotiations with the unions representing doctors in Quebec as a key reason for his resignation.

In the post, Dubé said he was also leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) party and signalled that he was upset with the way the government had backed off on many of its planned health-care reforms. 

He will remain as an Independent MNA representing the South Shore riding of La Prairie until the end of his mandate, he said.

Dubé became health minister after a cabinet shuffle in June 2020, steered the province through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw significant changes in the way Quebec administers its public health-care network.

He said he had always worked to improve services for Quebecers, but recent negotiations took their toll. Dubé had led a push to overhaul the way doctors are compensated in Quebec, forcing through legislation known as Bill 2. 

The bill sparked massive backlash from doctors, who were angry over the legislation that would have tied part of their pay to performance targets.

In his post, Dubé said the government failed to adequately communicate Bill 2’s objectives and impact. “I take full responsibility for my part in this situation,” he said. 

The Quebec government finally backtracked on much of Bill 2, coming to an agreement with Quebec’s family doctors, who are set to announce the result of their vote on the agreement on Friday.

The deal was reached only weeks before the controversial legislation was set to go into effect. 

Premier François Legault stepped in after negotiations had broken off between Quebec’s family doctors and Dubé, along with Treasury Board President France-Élaine Duranceau.

The agreement backtracked on several key points of the planned health reform, including doing away with penalties tied to performance targets. It also eliminated a controversial plan to assign patients on a colour-coded system based on their level of vulnerability, and removed all articles in the legislation that would have penalized doctors for not following the reforms.

In his post, Dubé expressed disappointment with the way the government backed down on the measures.

“I must be honest with you,” he said. “Several key elements of Bill 2 were also aimed at modernizing the governance of the health-care system and enabling the government and Santé Québec to fully exercise their role as managers of the public network.