Quebec minister steps down day after daughter criticizes special law for doctors
CBC
Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant is leaving his position in the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government and says he will sit as an independant.
The longtime minister announced the decision, which he called difficult and "heart-wrenching," alongside Premier François Legault on Thursday morning.
"The last few weeks have been difficult and have led me to refocus my priorities," he said in the news conference. "I am choosing my family."
He resigns as doctors across Quebec prepare a legal challenge against the province’s special law — Bill 2 — which imposes a salary structure on doctors.
Among the doctors considering leaving Quebec is Carmant's daughter who is a specialist doctor. In a letter published in Le Devoir on Wednesday, Laurence Carmant said she might move elsewhere in Canada if the government does not "allow her to practice freely."
"I will unfortunately have no other choice but to leave for another province," she wrote.
She said the system is broken and invited Health Minister Christian Dubé to rethink the health care system as a whole, rather than "blaming individuals."
Carmant did not directly comment on his daughter's letter in the news conference.
Marc Tanguay, Quebec Liberal Party health critic, said the letter published by Carmant’s daughter sends a strong message to Legault.
"She’s a super specialist, she has the right to express herself and the fact that she decided to write a letter … says a lot," he told reporters, following Carmant’s announcement.
"As a father I can see the stress that it put within the family relationship."
Before politics, Carmant was a pediatric neurologist at Ste-Justine Hospital. He was elected as the member for Taillon in 2018 and served as the minister for health and social services from 2018 to 2022.
In his address on Thursday, he said it’s not easy to leave behind files he is passionate about.
Legault thanked Carmant and said he is "grateful" for what he has accomplished.
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