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The Quebec government wants to compel new doctors who studied and trained in the province to work in the public system at the beginning of their career.

Health Minister Christian Dubé announced Sunday evening that he is looking into tabling a bill that would make recent graduates who are both general practitioners and specialists temporarily stay out of the private system.

The goal of tabling such proposed legislation is to “improve access and strengthen” the public health network, according to Dubé. Few details were provided about the bill, including how long a new doctor would be expected to work in the public system.

“While too many Quebecers are still waiting to be taken care of, too many physicians decide, early in their careers, to leave the Quebec public network,” Dubé said in a statement.

Quebec estimates that training a doctor costs between $435,000 and $790,000, including residency.

“We will take steps to ensure that the population has access to the care they pay for,” Dubé said.

The Health Ministry says there are two issues: there is an upward trend in physicians heading to the private sector and many others simply leave Quebec. Both of these issues are prevalent among new doctors, according to the government.

The province notes that 775 of the 22,479 doctors in Quebec work exclusively in the private sector, an increase of 70 per cent since 2020.

Quebec’s College of Physicians issued a short statement by email Monday, saying it is “in favour of Minister Dubé’s intention.”

“For us, it is a question of social responsibility. But we will want to see the terms of this bill,” the college said.

Québec solidaire MNA and health critical Vincent Marissal welcomed Dubé’s idea, but said “it does not go far enough considering the scale of the problem.”

Marissal argued it will not bring back doctors who already left the public network and that more is needed to clamp down on the rise of private clinics in the province.

— with files from Global’s Dan Spector